BYGONEcDAYS 
IN  CHIC/CGO 


FREDERICK  FRANCIS  COOK 


Mr.  &  Mrs.  Horace  A.  Scott 

2208  North  Ross  Street 

Santa  Ana,  California  92706 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Arciiive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/bygonedaysinchicOOcookiala 


BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 


BYGONE  DAYS  IN 
CHICAGO 

RECOLLECTIONS   OF   THE 
''GARDEN   CITY"   OF  THE   SIXTIES 

BY 
FREDERICK   FRANCIS   COOK 

"I  summon  up  remembrance  of  things  past " 


WITH    NEARLY  ONE  HUNDRED  ILLUSTRATIONS  FROM 
RARE  PRINTS  AND  PHOTOGRAPHS 


CHICAGO 
A.  C.  McCLURG  &  CO. 

1910 


Copyright 

A.  C.  McCLURG  &  CO. 

1910 

Published  April  9, 1910 


Ei)t  Isktsflit  $rtM 

R.  R.  DONNELLEY  A  SONS  COMPANY 
CHICAGO 


ACKNOWLEDGMENT 

The  author  and  pubHshers  of  this  book  are  indebted 
to  the  Chicago  Historical  Society  for  its  generosity  in 
allowing  the  use  of  a  large  number  of  contemporaneous 
pictures  from  its  collections,  many  of  them  after  unique 
examples  of  old  color-prints. 


FOREWORD 

IN  putting  these  memories  of  a  bygone  Chicago  between 
the  covers  of  a  book,  it  is  less  the  aim  of  this  old-time 
newspaper  reporter  to  supply  first-hand  material  to 
compilers  of  matter-of-fact  histories,  than  to  shed  what 
light  may  be  his  on  the  psychology  of  a  staid  yet  sur- 
charged period,  now  difficult  for  those  who  were  not  of  it 
to  realize;  rebuild  for  the  mind's  eye  a  vanished  city;  re- 
store to  its  streets  their  varied  life ;  rehabilitate  passed  types 
in  their  proper  setting;  recall  with  a  due  regard  for  values 
some  of  the  moving  events  of  a  memorable  epoch:  and  so 
provide  a  faithful  transcript  for  whomsoever  may  be  in- 
terested in  the  "Garden  City"  of  a  classic  past  as  a  some- 
what unique  social  integral,  or  feel  moved  to  re-people  it 
in  fancy  with  the  offspring  of  his  imagination. 

It  is  a  saying  that  under  Napoleon  every  private 
carried  a  marshal's  baton  in  his  knapsack.  Whenever,  in 
these  days,  the  writer  in  his  Gotham  exile  responds  to  the 
lure  of  his  old  stamping-ground,  and  reckons  not  a  thou- 
sand miles  against  a  chat  at  the  Chicago  Press  Club  with 
the  all  too  few  surviving  old-timers,  he  has  the  feeling  that 
to  the  last  fledgling  among  its  hospitable  members,  there 
are  preenings  for  flights  into  the  empyrean,  with  an  eye 
single  to  the  production  of  the  Great  American  Novel. 

It  was  not  so  in  other  days.  We,  of  the  earlier  time, 
saw  the  things  about  us  through  a  tenuous  and  almost 
colorless  atmosphere  —  for  we  lived  in  a  present  without 
a  past.  Local  history  was  then  all  in  the  making.  Quite 
a  bit  is  now  in  retrospect,  and  all  the  upper  air,  the  realm 

ix 


X  FOREWORD 

of  visions,  is  filled  with  a  beguiling  efflorescence,  wherein 
may  be  discerned,  by  eyes  anointed,  the  shades  of  vociferous 
assemblages,  by  grace  of  one  of  which  there  rose  to  im- 
mortal heights  the  inspiring  figure  of  Abraham  Lincoln; 
the  heroic  manes  of  a  titanic  conflict  between  freedom  and 
slavery,  in  which  Chicago  bore  so  worthy  a  part ;  the  lurid 
spectres  of  a  great  fire;  the  grim  apparitions  of  baffled 
conspirators ;  the  tragic  wraiths  of  a  hideous  holocaust ;  the 
genii,  who,  to  awaken  in  our  people  a  sense  of  the  beau- 
tiful, fashioned  for  a  few  brief  months  an  enchanted  city 
out  of  dream  mist;  and,  commingling  with  these,  the  my- 
riad spirits  of  masterful  men  and  helpful  women,  associated 
with  the  giant  city's  epoch-making  beginnings.  Now  from 
"haunts"  of  this  sort  there  issue  minute  microbes  of 
wondrous  sheen,  that  in  a  manner  come  to  possess  the 
brain  of  such  as  are  hospitable  to  wizards  of  their  kind,  and 
therein  weave  into  the  warp  of  prosaic  reality  a  woof  of 
rare  imaginings.    Thus  great  art  is  born  —  sometimes. 

Chicago  is  to  the  unthinking  a  synon5Tne  for  Material- 
ism. Yet,  of  a  truth,  she  is  a  very  Mother  of  Idealism. 
Unfortunately  she  cannot  yet  hold  all  she  nurtures,  nor 
always  realize  the  visions  she  inspires.  For  the  present, 
therefore,  she  must  needs  content  herself  with  the  role  of 
prolific  matrix,  whose  issue  on  occasion  answer  the  beck- 
onings  of  older  centres,  in  the  hope  of  a  fuller  expression 
—  not,  however,  always  realized. 

The  generation  of  Lincoln  still  made  touch  at  many 
points  with  the  historic  past.  The  generation  best  typified 
by  a  Roosevelt  is  wrested  from  all  traditional  moorings, 
and  is  whirled  through  space  by  the  reahzed  fictions  of  a 
Jules  Verne.  Hence  only  heart-tugging  memories  remain 
to  those  whose  dimming  eyes  are  prone  to  blink  in  the 
garish  force-light  of  the  twentieth  century ;  and  these  turn 


FOREWORD  si 

gratefully  to  that  elder  time,  in  whose  restful  half-light 
events  are  composed  to  softest  outlines,  and  only  the  tallest 
peaks  within  range  of  the  backward  vision  still  reflect  with 
a  transfiguring  halo  the  light  of  the  suns  of  bygone  days. 

As  in  our  national  life  the  old  regime  is  divided  from 
the  new  by  the  Civil  War  of  1861,  so  in  the  minds  of 
Chicagoans  the  city's  past  is  demarcated  from  the  present 
by  the  great  fire  of  1871.  In  respect  to  both  it  is  a  case 
of  "before"  or  "after."  Happily,  the  ordeal  through 
which  the  nation  was  made  to  pass,  exhausting  as  it  was, 
left  it  physically  intact;  whereas  the  catastrophe  that 
visited  this  community  came  near  obliterating  it,  and  in 
no  respect  was  the  destruction  more  complete,  or  so  ir- 
reparable, as  in  the  matter  of  records  and  landmarks. 
Hence  the  ante-fire  "Garden  City"  will  exist  for  the 
future  only  as  it  may  be  restored  from  the  memories  of 
those  who  were  of  it ;  and  while,  unfortunately,  all  too  little 
has  been  done  to  revive  the  Wonder  City's  past  —  to  evoke, 
amid  indigenous  surroundings,  the  masterful  men  and  stir- 
ring events  that  so  distinguish  its  virile  adolescence  —  it 
is  only  too  true  that  what  is  not  soon  recorded  will  be  lost 
to  future  generations  without  hope  of  recovery. 

Perhaps  regarding  no  modern  foundation  is  it  so 
exigent  that  early  data  be  recorded  and  impressions  pre- 
served. Chicago  is  the  marvel  of  an  age  that  is  itself  the 
most  marvellous  in  history.  If  its  genesis  is  found  in  op- 
portunity, its  achievements  are  clearly  of  man.  From  the 
first  it  sought  to  stand  on  its  own  feet,  and  wherever  the 
groimd  gave  way  (and  fathomless  areas  were  differentiated 
from  possible  anchorages  for  "prairie  schooners"  by  signs 
of  "no  bottom")  it  jauntily  put  jack-screws  under  itself, 
laid  new  foimdations,  and,  Antaeus-like,  having  renewed 


xii  FOREWORD 

its  strength  by  contact  with  a  somewhat  more  solid  sub- 
stratum of  Mother  Earth,  went  courageously  forward  to 
new  conquests. 

It  was  surely  through  no  accident  that  "Long  John" 
Wentworth  stalked  into  the  infant  city  to  fix  the  type.  It 
was  merely  an  effect  of  reciprocal  attraction  under  a  nat- 
ural law  of  fitness.  And  even  as  this  Titan  loomed  in 
manifold  ways  among  the  living,  so  now  his  monument  in 
Rosehill  Cemetery  (shrewdly  erected  by  himself  to  make 
sure  of  its  height)  dominates  the  memorials  of  the  sur- 
rounding dead.  "Long  John,"  even  up  to  the  time  when 
first  elected  Mayor,  had  a  way  of  outgrowing,  as  well  as 
outwearing,  his  clothes;  and  Chicago,  having  acquired  the 
habit  by  imitation,  has  continued  ever  since  to  outstrip  her 
habiliments.  Of  New  York  it  has  been  said  that  it  suffers 
from  congestion.  Of  Chicago  it  may  be  said  even  more 
pertinently  that  it  is  afflicted  with  chronic  indigestion  —  a 
condition  arising  from  the  impossible  task  of  properly  as- 
similating all  that  nature  and  man  combine  to  crowd  into  it. 

It  is  a  gratifying  reflection  that,  shortly  after  the  fire, 
I  felt  moved  to  go  about  among  the  older  settlers  to  revive 
and  preserve  their  impressions  of  early  days ;  and  these 
reminiscences,  to  something  like  fourscore  issues,  were  pub- 
lished in  the  Times  of  Wilbur  F.  Storey  (with  which 
paper  the  writer  was  then  connected)  under  the  uniform 
heading  of  *'  Bygone  Days."  The  series  included  the  recol- 
lections of  Gurdon  S.  Hubbard,  then  far  and  away  the 
oldest  inhabitant  —  his  advent  dating  back  to  1818  — 
when,  outside  of  the  stockade  known  as  Fort  Dearborn, 
the  only  white  family's  habitation  was  John  Kinzie's. 
These  reminiscences  were  prepared  with  care ;  and  as  much 
then  recorded  was  still  matter  of  first-hand  knowledge,  and 
hence  subject  to  contemporary  correction,  the  series  may 


FOREWORD  ziii 

be  accepted  as  embodying  fairly  trustworthy  data.  Later 
a  file  of  these  published  memoranda,  together  with  a  rare 
volume  or  two  about  early  Chicago,  was  deposited  with  the 
Chicago  Historical  Society,  where  the  historian  of  the 
future  may  find  it  worth  his  while  to  consult  them. 

Now,  a  full  generation  later,  the  writer  is  undertaking 
to  supplement  these  older  reminiscences  of  others  with 
some  recollections  of  his  own.  These  date  back  to  1862  — 
a  strenuous  war  time  —  and  while  the  presentation  of  de- 
tached events  or  epochs,  however  salient  or  complete  in 
themselves,  may  suffer  in  comparison  with  the  sustained 
narrative,  they  should  nevertheless,  if  fairly  informed  with 
the  spirit  of  their  day  and  hour,  possess  something  more 
than  a  passing  interest. 

Not  many  had  better  opportunities  to  know  the  young 
city  both  in  its  shadows  and  its  lights;  for  I  was  the  fii'st 
of  a  class  with  roving  commissions,  now  usual  enough, 
known  as  "night  reporters."  Before  coming  to  Chicago  I 
had  travelled  quite  extensively  for  a  youngster  of  twenty, 
over  territory  then  rapidly  becoming  tributarj'^  to  the  as- 
piring city  —  namely,  the  States  of  Illinois,  Iowa,  Min- 
nesota, Wisconsin,  and  Michigan ;  furthermore,  I  had  spent 
several  months  in  each  of  its  two  most  ambitious  north- 
western rivals  of  earlier  days.  Galena  and  Dubuque.  By 
this  experience  I  was  enabled  to  gauge  the  young  giant's 
grasp  of  empire  where  it  was  most  poignantly  felt,  and 
knew  by  report  somewhat  about  most  of  the  men  who  in 
those  days  made  Chicago  the  focus  of  Western  attention 
and  interest. 

On  arrival  (after  working  my  way  "before  the  mast'* 
on  a  lumber  schooner  from  Saginaw,  Michigan,  where  my 
peregrinations  had  stranded  me)  I  found  myself  in  the 
midst  of  the  men  who  practically  constituted  the  first  gen- 


xiv  FOREWORD 

eration  of  settlers.  With  few  exceptions,  all  were  still  in 
the  prime  of  life.  Not  above  a  dozen  names  in  any  manner 
conspicuously  identified  with  the  city's  origin  or  develop- 
ment to  something  over  100,000  inhabitants  were  missing 
from  its  directory;  and  it  was  my  privilege,  as  a  journalist, 
to  come  in  contact  with  most  of  those,  whose  race  is  now  all 
but  run.  Of  this  old  guard  only  a  few  stragglers  remain 
—  as  was  only  too  evident  at  the  old  settlers'  reunion,  on 
the  occasion  of  the  city's  recent  "forf'-issimo  centennial 
celebration — and  soon  the  line  that  demarcates  the  old 
settler  from  his  fellows  must  be  moved  up  a  full  decade,  to 
provide  material  for  future  foregatherings. 

F.  F.  C. 
New  York  City, 

February  1,  1910, 


NOTE 

IT  is  my  pleasure  to  have  known  Mr.  Cook  during  the 
period  which  he  recalls  in  this  volume.  It  is  an  ad- 
vantage, in  judging  of  its  merits,  that  I  was  a  fellow- 
worker  in  journalism  during  the  same  period,  and  that 
we  saw  and  heard  and  did  much  together.  Mr.  Cook,  in 
those  days,  half  a  century  ago,  was  an  alert,  keen,  ob- 
servant, well  equipped  reporter.  The  reporter  has  un- 
usual advantages  for  knowing  what  is  going  on  in  his 
local  world.  No  event  escapes  him.  He  knows  the  causes 
and  consequences  of  events.  He  is  made  the  repository 
of  secrets  and  the  receptacle  of  rumor  and  gossip.  Indeed, 
he  is  so  well  acquainted  with  human  motives  that  he  knows 
what  makes  the  wheels  go  round  in  business,  politics, 
society,  and  art,  as  in  Hamlet's  characterization  of  the 
players,  "they  are  the  abstract  and  brief  chronicles  of 
the  time ;  after  your  death  you  were  better  have  a  bad  epi- 
taph than  their  ill  report  while  you  live."  All  this  was  spe- 
cially true  in  the  Chicago  of  half  a  century  ago,  for  at  that 
time  the  city  was  so  small  that  it  was  within  the  possi- 
bihties  of  any  smart  reporter  personally  to  know  every 
one  of  prominence  in  it,  and  to  be  aware  of  all  that  was 
going  on.  In  preparing  this  transcript  of  Chicago's  past, 
therefore,  Mr.  Cook  has  been  not  only  well  equipped  for 
his  task,  but  he  could  truthfully  say,  in  marshalling  events, 
"Magna  pais  fui"  As  I  have  already  intimated,  half  a 
century  ago  Mr.  Cook  and  I  were  reporters  together, 
bent  upon  the  same  assignment  or  enthusiastically  com- 
peting for  "scoops."    Since  those  days  he  has  drifted  away 

XV 


xvi  NOTE 

from  his  early  moorings  while  I  still  swing  with  the  tide 
at  the  old  anchorage.  His  book  recalls  to  me  the  stirring 
events  of  "the  sixties"  forcibly,  accurately,  and  interest- 
ingly. It  will  furnish  valuable  material  for  any  future 
history  of  Chicago,  and  to  this  extent  it  is  a  distinctly 
important  public  service.  To  the  reader  of  the  present, 
who  only  knows  Chicago  in  its  virile,  forceful  manhood, 
it  should  be  interesting  to  read  of  it  when  it  was  an  en- 
thusiastic stripling,  girding  up  its  loins  for  the  race.  Per- 
sonally, his  book  takes  me  over  familiar  highways  and 
by-ways,  and  I  am  glad  to  congratulate  him  and  help  to 
introduce  him  to  its  readers. 

George  P.  Upton. 
Chicago,  January  15, 1910, 


CONTENTS 


WAR-TIME  MEMORIES 

Chaptee        I.  Rising  of  a  People 

Chapter      II.  Preparations  for  the  War  . 

Chapter     III.  The  War  Face  at  Home     . 

Chapter     IV.  Suppression  of  the  *' Times" 

Chapter       V.  Political  Strife 

Chapter     VI.  A  "Copperhead"  Convention 

Chapter    VII.  The  Pulpit  as  a  War  Force 

Chapter  VIII.  The  Work  of  the  Women  . 

Chapter    IX.  The  Part  of  the  Singers     . 


Page 
1 

16 

33 
51 
59 
77 
90 
104 
117 


The  Underworld    . 

The  Underworld  (Continued)   . 

The  Underworld  (Concluded)  . 

A  Retrospect 

A  Bird's-eye  View^  .         .         , 

The  Business  Centre 

An  "Oldest  Settler"  Celebration 

A  Memorable  Army  Reunion    . 

Early  Literature  and  Art 

Early  Amusements 

Something  About  "Scoops" 

A  People's  Party  Regime 


128 
138 
150 
161 
171 
183 
197 
211 
227 
243 
251 
264 


CONTENTS  —Continued 


"The  Good  Old  Times" 

The  Spoils  of  War 

The  Tragedy  of  Popularity 

A  Comedy  of  Contrasts   . 

The  Lincoln  Funeral 

A  Lincoln  Seance  . 

Wilbur  F.  Storey,  Editor  of 

The  Old  "Lake  Front" 

Sharp-corner  Rhapsody   , 

An  Early  Sociable 

A  Hardscbabble  Romance 

By  Frost,  Flood,  and  Fire 


THE 


Times 


Paok 

272 
289 
296 


816 
321 
S81 
839 
345 
352 
869 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Paoe 

Portrait  of  the  Author,  Fired.  Francis  Cook         .  .      FronUapiece 

Portrait  of  Col.  James  A.  Mulligan  .....  12 

Facsimile  of  the  Cover  of  "The  Ellsworth  Requiem  March,'' 
showing  an  Authentic  Portrait  of  Col.  Elmer  E.  Ells- 
worth      .........  14 

The  Union  Defence  Committee,  organized  in  1861        .          ,  18 

The  Chicago  Zouaves  at  Drill 26 

Portrait  of  Col.  John  L.  Hancock      .....  80 

Portrait  of  Hon.  Thomas  B.  Bryan    .....  80 

"Old  Abe,''  the  Eighth  Wisconsin's  War  Eagle         .          .  84 

Confederate  Prisoners  at  Camp  Douglas      ....  88 

Portrait  of  Col.  (later  Gen.)  Benjamin  J.  Sweet  ...  42 

Portrait  of  Hon.  Buckner  S.  Morris  .....  46 

Plat  of  Camp  Douglas       .......  48 

The  Court  House  in  1860 64 

Portrait  of  Dr.  N.  S.  Davis 66 

Portrait  of  Deacon  Philo  Carpenter    .....  66 

The  "Wigwam,"  where  the  Republican  National  Convention 
of    1860    Challenged    Slavery    by   the   Nomination   of 

Abraham  Lincoln      .......  78 

Interior  of  the  ' '  Wigwam ' '  during  the  Republican  Conven- 
tion of  1860 82 

The  Soldiers'  Memorial  in  St.  James's  Church     ...  92 

Portrait  of  Rev.  William  W.  Everts 94 

Portrait  of  Rev.  W.  H.  Ryder 94 

Portrait  of  Rev.  Robert  CoUyer          .....  96 

Portrait  of  Rt.  Rev.  Dennis  Dunne   .          .          .          .          .  98 


k 


ILLUSTRATIONS— Ow^Tiz^rf 


Paok 


Portrait  of  Rev.  Robert  H.  Clarkson 

Portrait  of  Rev.  O.  H.  Tiffany. 

Portrait  of  Rev.  William  Weston  Patton   . 

The  Northwestern  Sanitary  Fair  of  1865     . 

Portrait  of  Mrs.  Mary  A.  ("Mother'')  Bickerdyke 

Portrait  of  George  F.  Root       .... 

Facsimile  of  the  Cover  of  ' '  The  Battle- Cry  of  Freedom 

Portrait  of  Frank  Lumbard       .... 

Portrait  of  Jules  G.  Lumbard  .... 

Sunnyside,  the  High-toned  Road-house  of  Lake  View 

Portrait  of  "Long  John''  Wentworth 

Portrait  of  William  B.  Ogden  . 

Portrait  of  Levi  D.  Boone 

Portrait  of  Thomas  Hoyne 

Portrait  of  Dr.  Charles  Volney  Dyer 

Portrait  of  Judge  Mark  Skinner 

Portrait  of  Deacon  William  Bross 

The  Lincoln  Funeral  Procession  in  Chicago 

Reception  of  the  Remains  at  the  Court  House 

Views  from  the  Court  House  Dome,  in  1858,  Looking  South 

and  Southwest  . 
Views  from  the  Court  House  Dome,  in  1858,  Looking  North 

and  Northeast  .... 
Residence  of  Ezra  B.  McCagg  . 
The  Mahlon  D.  Ogden  Property 
Bird's-eye  View  of  Chicago  in  the  Sixties 
Views  in  the  Early  Shopping  District 
Street  Scenes  before  the  War    . 
The  Sherman  House 
The  Tremont  House 


ILLUSTRATIONS— Conftnt^rf 

Paok 

Portrait  of  Gurdon  S.  Hubbard 198 

Portraits  of  Mr.   and  Mrs.   Archibald  Clybourne,  Types  of 

the  Pioneer        ........  206 

The  Clybourne  Mansion    .......  208 

The  Grand  Army  Reunion  of  1868  at  Crosby's  Opera  House  214 

Portrait  of  "Black  Jack''  Logan 222 

Benjamin  F.  Taylor 228 

Street  Scenes  in  the  "Bygone  Days*'           ....  234 

Portrait  of  George  P.  Upton 288 

Portrait  of  Francis  F.  Browne 238 

McVicker's  Theatre,  "Home  of  the  Tragic  Muse"       .         ,  244 

Wood's  Museum  and  Theatre    ......  244 

Portrait  of  Joseph  Medill,  Chicago's  "Fire- Proof"  Mayor  .  256 

Portrait  of  George  M.  Pullman  ......  260 

Lake  House,  Rush  Street  Bridge,  and  River  Mouth     .          .  278 

Portrait  of  James  H.  Bowen      ......  286 

Portrait  of  John  V.  Farwell       ......  286 

Portrait  of  William  F.  Coolbaugh 298 

Portrait  of  Rev.  Dwight  L.  Moody 306 

Portrait  of  Robert  G.  IngersoU  .  .  .  .  .812 

Arrival  of  Lincoln's  Body  in  Chicago          ....  318 

Portrait  of  Charles  H.  Reed 322 

Portrait  of  Leonard  Swett         ......  324 

Portrait  of  Hon.  Isaac  N.  Arnold 828 

Portrait  of  Wilbur  F.  Storey 832 

Views  on  the  Lake  Front .......  840 

The  Lake  Front  —  Park  Row  and  the  "  Marble  Terrace"     .  342 

First  Congregational  Church      ......  354 

St.  Paul's  Universalist  Church  ......  360 

Old  Building  of  the  First  Baptist  Church   .  .  .  .360 


BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 


WAR-TIME  MEMORIES 


CHAPTER  I 

RISING  OF  A  PEOPLE 

The  Call  to  Arms  —  Enthusiasm  for  Enlistments  —  Great  War 
Meetings  —  Leading  Citizens  to  the  Fore  —  Notable  Ora- 
tors— "Mat"  Carpenter,  "Dick"  Yates  and  Others  —  A  Con- 
flict OF  Passions  —  Attitude  of  Northern  Democrats  — 
Causes  that  Led  to  Germans  and  Irish  Taking  Opposite  Sides 
—  Why  the  Early  Zeal  of  the  Latter  Turned  to  Disaffec- 
tion —  The  Ellsworth  Zouaves  —  Tragic  Death  of  their 
Young  Leader. 

DURING  the  war  for  the  Union,  Chicago  was  ever  a 
stage  on  which  one  event  followed  another  with 
startling  rapidity,  often  picturesquely,  and  always 
dramatically.  As  a  prelude  to  the  great  conflict,  it  was 
here,  in  1860,  that  a  National  Convention  in  the  name  of 
Freedom  challenged  Slavery  to  a  struggle  for  supremacy 
by  the  nomination  of  Abraham  Lincoln;  and  here  also 
that  another  National  Convention  pronounced  the  war 
on  Freedom's  side  a  failure,  when  the  slaughter  had  gone 
on  for  more  than  three  years.  It  was  in  Chicago  that  a 
great  rebel  host  was  in  durance  —  an  ever-present  men- 
ace to  life  and  property,  —  and  for  the  liberation  of  this 
unorganized  and  unkempt  horde  a  conspiracy  was  hatched, 

1 


«  BYGONE   DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

though  happily  only  to  be  effectually  scotched.  Here, 
again,  a  leading  newspaper  was  suppressed  by  military 
edict  for  alleged  rebel  sympathies;  and  it  was  in  Chicago 
that  inspired  singers  armed  the  nation  with  "The  Battle 
Cry  of  Freedom"  and  many  another  war  psean,  that 
strengthened  the  cause  of  the  Union  as  an  army  with 
banners. 

ENTHUSIASM  FOR  ENLISTMENT 

The  ceaseless  roll  of  the  drum  not  only  rallied  the 
patriot  by  day,  but  reminded  him  of  his  duty  a  good  part 
of  the  night  —  especially  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Court 
House  Square,  filled  with  recruiting  tents.  And,  when- 
ever a  great  victory  was  celebrated,  or  the  wail  of  disaster 
was  heard  in  the  land,  and  it  became  urgent  once  again 
to  fire  the  hearts  of  the  home  guard  to  added  enlistments, 
the  doors  of  Bryan  Hall,  fronting  the  square,  were  flung 
open,  great  crowds  surged  within,  and,  while  patriotic 
eloquence  moved  the  assembled  patriots  to  transports  of 
enthusiasm,  their  united  voices,  vibrant  with  the  emo- 
tions of  the  hour,  preceded  or  followed  each  speaker  with 
the  "Star- Spangled  Banner,"  "Hail  Columbia,"  "Amer- 
ica," "The  Battle  Cry  of  Freedom,"  "John  Brown's 
Body,"  or  other  stirring  lyrics  of  the  war.  These  great 
meetings  were  often  protracted  till  midnight;  but,  be  the 
hour  what  it  might,  there  was  no  thought  of  adjournment 
until  Frank  Lumbard,  in  answer  to  a  unanimous  call,  had 
stepped  gallantly  forward,  given  some  general  orders 
about  the  way  he  wanted  everybody  to  sweep  into  the 
chorus  (as  if  that  were  necessary) ,  and  sung  "Ole  Shady" 
with  the  uplifting  fervor  he  alone  could  give  it.  Those 
were  great  days  for  Frank;  and  seldom  was  a  meeting 
called  until  its  promoters  had  made  sure  that  he  and  liis 
famous  war  quartette  could  attend. 


RISING  OF  A  PEOPLE  8 

NOTABLE  ORATORS  FOR  THE  CAUSE 

When  his  engagements  permitted,  Mat  Carpenter  was 
brought  down  from  Milwaukee,  and  Dick  Yates,  Gover- 
nor (father  of  a  later  Governor  of  Illinois),  was  called  up 
from  Springfield,  to  be  orators-in-chief.  One  who  could 
always  be  depended  upon  to  hold  his  hearers  was  "Long 
John"  Wentworth;  another  was  Tom  Hoyne.  Others 
frequently  heard  were  Senator  Lyman  Trumbull,  the 
Hon.  E.  C.  Larned,  the  Hon.  Isaac  N.  Arnold  (at  this 
time  Chicago's  sole  representative  in  Congress),  Emory 
A.  Storrs,  Wirt  Dexter,  B.  F.  Ayer,  Colonel  Edmund 
Jiissen,  Casper  Butz,  Colonel  John  L.  Hancock,  the  Hon. 
George  C.  Bates,  the  Hon.  S.  K.  Dow,  the  Hon.  John  C. 
Dore,  A.  C.  Hesing,  Revs.  W.  W.  Patton,  Robert  Collyer, 
W.  W.  Everts,  O.  H.  Tiffany,  R.  W.  Patterson  and  W. 
H.  Ryder,  Judge  J.  B.  Bradwell,  the  Hon.  John  N. 
Jewett,  John  Lyle  King,  future  Judge  Sidney  Smith, 
Colonel  Van  Arman,  William  F.  Coolbaugh. 

PRESIDING  OFFICERS 

The  list  of  presiding  officers  at  various  times  included 
such  well-known  citizens  as  the  Hon.  Thomas  B.  Bryan, 
John  V.  Farwell,  the  Hon.  Julian  S.  Rumsey  (Mayor  at 
the  outbreak  of  the  war) ,  the  Hon.  J.  B.  Rice  and  the  Hon. 
R.  B.  Mason  (both  subsequently  Mayors),  Judges  John 
M.  Wilson  and  Henry  Drummond,  the  Hon.  W.  B.  Ray- 
mond, and  Deacon  (subsequently  Lieutenant-Governor) 
William  Bross.  In  the  beginning  of  the  struggle  the  name 
of  William  B.  Ogden  (from  a  business  point  then  far  and 
away  Chicago's  first  citizen,  as  he  had  been  its  first  Mayor) 
was  included  in  this  list;  but,  as  the  struggle  advanced, 
"constitutional  scruples"  made  him  withdraw  from  the 
firing  line  of  support.    Then  the  place  of  first  citizen  fell 


4  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

by  common  consent  to  the  Hon.  Thomas  B.  Bryan,  and  a 
well  deserved  honor  it  was.  The  list  of  Vice-Presidents 
included  almost  everybody  on  the  Union  side  in  any  man- 
ner conspicuous  in  business  or  the  professions;  while  es- 
pecial care  was  taken  to  include  as  many  names  as  possible 
with  Democratic  antecedents.  Among  the  more  noted  in 
this  class  I  recall  the  following:  Thomas  B.  Bryan,  Potter 
Palmer,  J.  H.  McVicker,  David  A.  Gage,  William  F. 
Coolbaugh,  Thomas  Hoyne,  George  L.  Dunlap,  Marshall 
Field,  Daniel  O'Hara,  John  R.  Walsh,  Henry  E.  Hamil- 
ton, W.  K.  McAllister,  M.  F.  Tuley,  Benjamin  F.  Ayer, 
James  W.  Sheehan,  Gilbert  C.  Walker,  Isaac  N.  Milliken, 
E.  G.  Asay,  T.  M.  Harvey,  H.  D.  Colvin,  John  N.  Jew- 
ett,  J.  W.  Doane,  S.  M.  Nickerson,  Gen.  U.  F.  Linder, 
C.  L.  Woodman,  Philip  Conley,  W.  J.  Onahan. 


SOLDIER   ORATORS   IN   THE   MAKING 

In  the  list  of  orators,  the  reader  whose  memory  runs 
only  vrith  the  political  regime  that  followed  the  war  will 
miss  the  names  of  men  without  whom  in  later  days  no 
meeting  on  one  side  or  the  other  was  complete,  namely 
those  of  General  John  A.  Logan,  General  Richard  J. 
Oglesby,  and  Colonel  Robert  G.  Ingersoll  for  the  Repub- 
licans, and  Generals  John  C.  Black  and  M.  R.  M.  Wallace 
for  the  Democrats.  But  these  men  were  engaged  in  mak- 
ing history  then  —  not  in  celebrating  its  epochs  —  and  lay- 
ing up  reputations  with  the  sword  that  should  stand  them 
in  good  stead  with  the  people  in  subsequent  piping  times  of 
peace.  Unhappily,  for  many  a  year  the  war  was  fought 
all  over  again  on  every  busting  in  the  land,  and  charges 
and  counter  charges,  if  only  with  tongue  or  pen,  were  de- 
livered with  all  their  old-time  fierceness. 


RISING  OF  A  PEOPLE  B 

MATTHEW  CARPENTER,  A  POPULAR  SPEAKER 

Mat  Carpenter  stood  conspicuously  above  the  rest  in 
public  favor  as  a  speaker.  At  this  time  he  was  a  practising 
lawyer  in  Milwaukee,  was  known  as  a  "War  Democrat," 
and  afterwards  became  the  Republican  Senator  from  Wis- 
consin. He  had  been  a  close  friend  of  Senator  Douglas; 
and  this  fact,  aside  from  his  great  talent,  gave  uncommon 
value  to  his  services  in  holding  his  fellow  Democrats  in 
line.  Carpenter  was  beyond  doubt  the  highest  type  of 
orator  (as  distinguished  from  great  debaters  like  Lincoln 
and  Douglas)  the  West  then  could  show,  for  Robert  G. 
Ingersoll,  who  at  this  time  was  in  the  field,  had  his  oratori- 
cal spurs  still  to  win.  In  after  years,  though  acknowledged 
one  of  the  ablest  lawyers  in  the  Senate,  and  rated  also 
among  its  most  skilful  debaters,  he  never  quite  rose  to  such 
heights  of  eloquence  as  when,  in  an  atmosphere  vibrant 
with  hfe-and-death  issues,  he  moved  multitudes  with  ap- 
peals to  uphold  the  arms  of  the  defenders  of  the  Union. 
His  was  a  leonine  head,  set  on  a  superb  body.  His  voice 
was  full,  musical,  far-reaching,  and  few  better  than  he  un- 
derstood how  to  master  an  audience  and  move  it  to  his  will. 

BITTER    PARTY   FEELING 

Nothing  could  be  more  misleading  or  unjust  than  to 
judge  the  attitude  of  Northern  Democrats  during  the  war 
in  the  light  of  the  negative  party  feeling  of  to-day.  In 
those  strenuous  times  any  exhibition  of  reasonableness  was 
unhesitatingly  stigmatized  as  cowardice,  and  men  were 
wholly  swayed  by  their  prejudices,  heated  by  friction  into 
blinding  passion.  Not  only  does  this  apply  to  the  immedi- 
ate war  time,  but  to  many  years  before  as  well  as  after  the 
great  struggle.  It  was  in  1859  that  the  steamer  Lady 
Elgin  was  wrecked  on  Lake  Michigan,  off  Winnetka. 


6  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

Many  of  the  male  victims  were  members  of  an  Irish  mili- 
tary organization;  and  I  have  a  very  distinct  recollection 
that  the  horrors  of  that  catastrophe  were  much  mitigated 
for  many  Republicans  (including  my  own  miserable 
partisan  self)  by  the  reflection  that  the  Democratic  vote 
was  thereby  reduced  to  the  extent  of  a  hundred  or  more. 

ATTITUDE  OF   FOREIGN -BORN    CITIZENS 

Up  to  the  war  the  country's  foreign-born  population 
was  composed  almost  wholly  of,  and  divided  about  equally 
between,  immigrants  from  Germany  and  Ireland;  and 
while  both,  in  the  main,  sought  these  shores  because  of  op- 
pressive conditions  at  home,  these  conditions  were  in  the 
case  of  the  former  chiefly  political,  while  in  that  of  the  lat- 
ter they  were  largely  economic.  Hence  the  immigrants 
from  the  first  country  represented  a  superior  class,  and 
those  from  the  latter  an  inferior  one.  Thus  antecedent 
conditions  determined  that  while  a  majority  of  Germans 
should  be  intensely  anti-slavery.  Irishmen  in  an  ap- 
proximate degree  should  be  pronounced  in  their  pro-slavery 
sentiments.  That  the  reactionary  Catholic  hierarchy  of 
that  time  exerted  a  pro-slavery  influence  over  its  devotees, 
there  is  httle  room  to  question ;  though  the  factors  of  chief- 
est  determination  were  clearly  economic,  or  more  broadly 
speaking,  sociological.  The  German  immigrant,  when  not 
of  the  scholarly  class,  usually  possessed  at  least  a  fair 
education;  and,  when  he  did  not  take  to  farming,  found 
employment  in  the  more  advanced  industries. 

Nine-tenths  of  all  immigrants  from  the  Green  Isle  were 
at  best  adapted  only  to  the  commonest  labor,  and  so  came 
often  not  only  in  close  contact,  but  even  in  direct  competi- 
tion with  blacks,  both  bond  and  free.  On  the  Southern  and 
Western  rivers,  for  example,  while  the  raftsmen  (in  char- 


RISING  OF  A  PEOPLE  7 

acter  comparable  to  the  cowboy  of  the  plains)  were  gener- 
ally native  Americans  of  the  harum-scarum  sort,  the  roust- 
abouts on  the  steamboats,  as  well  as  the  laborers  about  the 
wharfs,  when  not  negroes,  were  almost  without  exception 
Irish.  The  latter  at  this  time  constituted  everywhere, 
North  and  South,  the  lowest  white  strata  in  the  active  labor 
market;  hence  there  arose  among  them  an  intense  desire 
to  keep  the  negro  in  his  place  as  slave. 

GERMANS   AND   IRISH   ON   OPPOSITE   SIDES 

Whatever  the  aversions  among  the  highest  toward  the 
lowest  in  the  social  scale,  they  are  seldom  comparable  to  the 
unreasoning  prejudice,  often  rising  to  blinding  hate,  that 
manifests  itself  in  the  lower  ranges  toward  those  regarded 
as  a  grade  beneath  them.  Where  the  distance  that  sepa- 
rates an  upper  from  a  lower  stratum  yields  a  perspective 
sufficient  to  "lend  enchantment  to  the  view,"  there  fre- 
quently intervenes  a  sort  of  benevolent  haze,  through  which 
such  commonplaces  as  dirt  and  grime  not  only  become  the 
handmaids  of  art,  as  "lovely  bits  of  local  color,"  but  the 
sources  of  a  moving  sentiment :  as  when  the  negro  in  slav- 
ery times  was  seen  through  the  glamour  of  "Uncle  Tom's 
Cabin";  or,  in  these  later  days,  the  slums  are  envisaged 
through  a  University  Settlement  romance.  Thus,  while 
among  the  comfortably  circumstanced  and  well-disposed 
people  of  the  North,  either  native  or  German-born,  there 
had  grown  up  before  the  war  a  strong  sympathy  for  the 
slave,  which  invested  him  with  a  halo  more  or  less  of  a 
misfit,  there  developed  among  the  Irish  a  tendency  dis- 
tinctly in  the  opposite  direction.  This  was  due  to  a  variety 
of  cooperating  extraneous  causes,  but  also  in  no  small  de- 
gree to  that  primitive  instinct  which  demands  for  its  sat- 
isfaction that  somebody  be  kept  in  his  place  to  be  looked 


8  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

down  upon.  Accordingly,  in  judging  the  attitude  of 
Irishmen  toward  a  war  having  for  one  of  its  ultimates 
negro  emancipation,  with  possible  political  equality,  due 
allowance  should  be  made,  and  all  the  more  credit  awarded 
to  that  considerable  number  who  rose  manfully  above  all 
these  influences,  to  enroll  themselves  among  the  champions 
of  liberty  and  union. 

I  certainly  hold  no  brief  in  plea  of  the  attitude  of  the 
mass  of  Irishmen  during  the  war.  Since,  however,  in  the 
interest  of  a  proper  understanding  of  the  political  situation 
in  war-time  Chicago,  I  have  ventured  to  touch  upon  this 
subject,  fairness  demands  that  all  the  light  possible  be  shed 
upon  it.  Time  often  brings  not  only  charity  but  clarity; 
and  a  sufficiently  wide  induction  may  force  the  conclusion 
that,  given  similar  conditions,  all  peoples  will  act  in  pretty 
much  the  same  way.  The  German  idealist,  who  stood  so 
valiantly  for  freedom,  equal  rights,  and  equal  opportun- 
ities for  the  negro  in  America,  in  his  native  country  fre- 
quently disgraces  himself  as  a  fanatical  Jew-baiter.  A 
similar  phenomenon  is  observed  in  enlightened,  republican 
France;  while  the  aristocracy  of  Magna  Charta  England 
not  only  held  Ireland  in  brutal  subjection  for  centuries, 
but  during  our  war  was  strongly  pro-slavery  in  its  sym- 
pathies. 

MUTUAL   ANTIPATHIES 

The  fact  that  so  considerable  a  number  of  the  sons  of 
Erin  enlisted  on  the  side  of  the  Union,  and  this  more  par- 
ticularly at  the  outset,  in  no  manner  contravenes  a  conten- 
tion that  in  the  mass  (and  this  more  conspicuously  after 
the  President's  Emancipation  Proclamation)  they  were 
distinctly  antipathetic  to  the  cause  of  the  "Black  Abolition- 
ists." The  true  test  of  their  feelings  would  come  when 
placed  where  they  could  make  easy  choice  of  sides.     To 


RISING  OF  A  PEOPLE  9 

such  purpose  Missouri  offered  itself  at  the  beginning  of 
the  war  as  ideal  proving  ground :  and  while  it  is  generally 
conceded  that  it  was  the  German  who  saved  that  State  to 
the  Union  cause,  an  Irish  rally  to  the  same  consummation 
is  conspicuous  by  its  absence.  And  here  another  motive 
to  swing  the  Irishman  to  the  Southern  side  suggests  itself, 
—  namely,  his  natural  affinity  with  the  easy-going,  toddy- 
drinking  Southerner;  and,  per  contra,  his  temperamental 
antipathy  to  the  more  sluggish,  beer-drinking  German. 
And  because  the  Irishman  and  the  German  constituted  al- 
most the  entire  foreign  population  at  this  time,  it  followed 
as  a  matter  of  course,  that  whatever  "Hansi"  espoused 
"Pat"  was  "ferninst,'*  and  vice  versa.  In  those  days  the 
latter  might  vary  his  whiskey  with  ale,  but  with  beer,  never ; 
and  the  latter  beverage  could  be  had  only  in  places  patron- 
ized exclusively  by  Germans. 

Since  then  much  has  happened.  Not  only  does  the  Hi- 
bernian, if  bibulously  inclined,  now  line  up  with  the  most 
capacious  Teuton  as  a  consumer  of  lager;  but  even  sauer- 
kraut, with  a  soupfon  of  Limburger,  does  not  in  these  days 
come  amiss  to  him.  In  our  foreign-born  polyglot,  the 
Irishman  no  longer  looks  up,  but  distinctly  down;  for  in 
nearly  all  ranks  of  labor  he  is  now  top-sawyer,  invariably 
the  "walking  delegate";  and  none  excels  him  in  getting  a 
"hustle"  out  of  his  Italian,  Polish,  Hungarian,  or  Croatian 
successors  as  wielders  of  the  pick  and  spade,  or  luggers  of 
the  hod. 

ACTIVITY   OF  OPPOSING   FORCES 

This  somewhat  psycho-sociological  digression  has 
seemed  necessary  in  order  to  set  before  the  reader  in  its 
true  light  the  political  situation  in  war-time  Chicago.  With 
the  exception  of  a  considerable  Southern-born  admixture, 
the  native  population  was  in  the  main  loyal  to  the  Union 


10  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

side,  while  the  foreign-bom  population  was  divided  into 
opposite  camps,  with  an  appreciable  preponderance  of 
numbers  on  the  Irish  side.  Whereas,  the  north  division 
with  its  dominant  German  population,  and  the  Milwaukee 
Avenue  region  with  its  Scandinavian  beginnings,  were  ever 
enthusiastic  for  the  Union  and  the  abolition  of  slavery,  all 
that  region  which  lies  between  Archer  and  Blue  Island 
Avenues  (excepting  a  German  cluster  about  Twelfth  and 
Halsted  Streets)  was  never  more  than  lukewarm,  and  on 
occasion  distinctly  hostile  to  the  prosecution  of  the  war. 
Whenever  there  was  a  notable  Union  victory,  the  North 
Side  would  burst  spontaneously  into  a  furor  of  enthusiasm, 
while  matters  down  in  the  densely  populated  southwest 
region  would  be  reduced  to  a  mere  simmer.  But  no  sooner 
was  there  a  Rebel  victory  than  it  was  the  turn  of  Bridge- 
port and  its  appanages  to  celebrate ;  and  these  demonstra- 
tions generally  took  the  form  of  hunting  down  any  poor 
colored  brother  who  might  have  strayed  inadvertently 
within  those  delectable  precincts. 

A  CONTRAST  IN  LEADERSHIP 

German  leaders,  like  Colonel  Edmund  Jiissen,  Dr. 
Ernst  Schmidt,  A.  C.  Hesing,  Lorenz  Brentano,  Friede- 
rich  Rapp,  Casper  Butz,  George  Schneider,  Prof.  Julius 
Dyhrenf urth,  Emil  Dietzsch,  Louis  Huck,  Peter  Schuttler, 
Jacob  Beidler,  F.  A.  Hoffman,  Hans  Balatka,  Fred.Letz, 
Ernst  Pruessing,  Henry  Greenebaum,  John  G.  Gindele, 
Louis  Wahl  were  either  speakers  at  war  rallies,  or,  with 
many  another  prominent  compatriot  from  the  Fatherland, 
were  never  absent  from  a  list  of  vice-presidents.  But  I 
search  my  memory  in  vain  to  recall  the  names  of  con- 
spicuous Irishmen,  outside  of  the  fighting  ranks,  who 
stood  stoutlv  for  the  cause  of  the  Union,  unless  glorious 


RISING  OF  A  PEOPLE  11 

old  Tom  Hoyne,  James  W.  Sheehan,  John  R.  Walsh,  and 
other  bearers  of  Irish  names,  but  born  in  America,  be 
credited  on  the  side  of  Erin ;  while,  from  among  less  known 
men  who  subsequently  rose  to  more  or  less  prominence, 
the  names  of  W.  J.  Onahan  (who  sometimes  spoke  at  war 
meetings),  Philip  Conley,  Hugh  Maher,  Daniel  McElroy, 
T.  J.  Kinsella,  John  TuUy,  and  the  Prindeville  brothers 
alone  occur. 

IRISHMEN   LOYAL   AT  THE   BEGINNING   OF  THE   WAR 

That  the  Irish  disaffection,  so  marked  in  the  later  years 
of  the  war,  was  a  state  of  mind  that  grew  logically  out  of 
the  progress  and  political  developments  of  the  struggle, 
when  the  emphasis  of  appeal  shifted  from  an  unconditional 
Union  to  one  modified  by  emancipation,  with  possible 
equal  rights  for  the  black  man,  has  perhaps  been  sufficiently 
pointed  out.  No  class  was  apparently  more  enthusi- 
astic for  the  defence  of  the  flag  which  symbolized  the  Union 
of  States,  when  fired  upon  at  Sumter,  than  the  Irish.  Few 
regiments  were  more  quickly  filled  than  those  recruited 
under  Irish  auspices:  and  that  this  enthusiasm  was  not  a 
mere  flash  in  the  pan,  is  well  shown  by  the  spirit  in  which 
discouragements  were  disregarded  and  obstacles  overcome. 
As  soon  as  war  was  a  certainty,  this  call  was  issued : 

"Rally!  All  Irishmen  in  favor  of  forming  a  regiment  of  Irish 
volunteers  to  sustain  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  in  and 
through  the  present  war,  will  rally  at  North  Market  Hall,  this  evening, 
April  20th.  Come  all!  For  the  honor  of  the  Old  Land,  Rally! 
Rally !  for  the  defence  of  the  New !  (signed)  James  A.  Mulligan,  Alder- 
man Comiskey,  M.  C.  McDonald,  Captains  M.  Gleason,  C.  Moore,  J. 
C.  Phillips,  Daniel  Quirk,  F.  McMurray,  Peter  Casey ;  Citizens  Daniel 
McElroy,  John  Tully,  Philip  Conley,  T.  J.  Kinsella." 

It  is  rather  surprising  to  note  the  name  of  "Mike" 
(M.  C.)  McDonald,  the  notorious  gambler,  recently  de- 


12  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

ceased,  among  the  signers ;  and  still  more  that  of  Alderman 
Comiskey,  who  in  the  later  years  of  the  war  was  one  of  the 
most  outspoken  "Copperheads"  in  the  city. 

THE  IRISH  BRIGADE 

There  were  some  odds  and  ends  of  Irish  military  or- 
ganizations, known  as  Montgomery  Guards,  Emmet 
Guards,  and  Shields's  Guards,  under  the  command  of  those 
grouped  as  "Captains"  in  the  call,  and  what  there  was  of 
these  organizations  responded  almost  to  a  man;  so  that, 
at  the  meeting,  in  a  couple  of  hours  325  men  were  enlisted; 
and  in  a  few  days  a  complete  regiment  and  more,  known  as 
"The  Irish  Brigade."  But  the  rush  to  arms  under  the 
first  and  second  calls  was  so  great,  and  so  quickly  were  the 
regiments  allotted  to  Illinois  placed  in  the  field,  that  there 
was  no  room  for  this  Irish  contingent,  and  many  another, 
among  them  several  regiments  composed  exclusively  of 
Germans.  But  such  was  the  spirit  that  animated  these 
sons  of  Erin,  that  they  determined  to  maintain  their  or- 
ganization and  bide  their  time.  Meanwhile  their  gallant 
Colonel,  James  A.  Mulligan,  had  hied  him  to  Washington, 
and  after  much  ado,  persuaded  the  Secretary  of  War  to  ac- 
cept the  "Irish  Brigade"  as  an  independent  organization 
outside  of  the  assigned  quota.  It  was  mustered  in  as  the 
Twenty-third  Illinois,  June  5,  1861,  and  left  for  the  field 
on  the  fourteenth  of  July. 

THEIR  POOR  EQUIPMENT 

I  have  heard  not  a  few  "old  and  reliable"  citizens  de- 
scribe the  scenes  of  enthusiasm  that  accompanied  the  de- 
parture of  the  Irish  Brigade,  and  the  brave  showing  they 
made  in  their  new  uniforms,  with  their  gallant  leader,  Col- 
onel Mulligan,  at  their  head.     No  one  may  question  the 


By  Courtesy  of  the  Chicago  Historical  Society 


COL.  JAMES   A.    MULLIGAN 
(Commander  of  "The  Irish  Brigade") 


RISING  OF  A  PEOPLE  13 

enthusiasm,  for  the  regiment  was  largely  made  up  of  well- 
known  young  men  about  town ;  but  their  appearance  is  an- 
other matter ;  and  as  a  picture  of  the  times,  the  hurry  and 
inadequacy  with  which  everything  had  to  be  done,  I  take 
the  liberty  to  quote  this  paragraph  from  the  Tribune  of 
the  morning  following  the  regiment's  departure : 

"Although  in  material  the  men  are  a  credit  to  any  section,  they  are 
in  outfit  a  disgrace  to  Chicago  as  a  city.  Cook  as  a  county,  and  Illi- 
nois as  a  State."     , 

From  what  can  be  gathered,  the  one  uniform  article  of 
apparel  was  a  green  shirt ;  and  as  this  had  done  duty  for  a 
month  or  more  in  what  was  euphoniously  known  as  **  Fon- 
tenoy  Barracks,"  an  old  brewery  on  Polk  Street,  the  rest 
can  be  imagined.  As  likely  as  not  they  left  for  the  field 
of  glory  —  which,  in  a  brief  month  was  to  be  also  the 
field  of  death  for  so  many,  at  Lexington,  Missouri,  —  in 
common  box  cars ;  for  that,  in  the  crying  lack  of  transpor- 
tation, is  the  way  many  of  the  early  regiments  departed 
for  the  front. 

THE  ELLSWORTH  ZOUAVES 

Since  Chicago  had  boasted  for  a  year  or  more,  and  up 
to  within  a  few  months  of  the  opening  of  hostilities,  the 
possession  of  so  famous  a  military  organization  as  the  Ells- 
worth Zouaves,  it  might  well  be  supposed  that  it  was  also 
to  the  fore  in  the  matter  of  military  organizations  in  gen- 
eral. But  the  state  of  things  was  lamentably  otherwise. 
Indeed,  it  was  probably  the  very  proficiency  of  these 
Zouaves,  under  their  brilliant  young  commander,  which,  in- 
stead of  taking  the  form  of  a  stimulus  toward  the  promo- 
tion of  other  organizations,  acted  directly  as  a  deterrent, 
because  of  the  discouraging  comparison  to  which  any  at- 
tempt on  the  same  lines  in  the  local  field  would  inevitably 


14  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

be  subjected.  In  1859,  at  the  age  of  twenty-two,  Elmer  E. 
Ellsworth  was  assistant  pa^Tnaster  of  the  State.  He  was  a 
military  enthusiast,  and  seeing  that  the  Illinois  militia  was 
in  a  deplorable  condition,  he  reorganized,  by  way  of  ex- 
ample, an  old  Chicago  company  under  the  title  of  United 
States  Zouave  Cadets.  Ellsworth  exacted  total  abstinence 
from  the  use  of  liquor,  and  regular  attendance  at  drill 
three  times  a  week.  He  thus  in  an  incredibly  short  time 
brought  his  command  to  such  proficiency  that,  during  an 
exhibition  tour  which  included  all  the  larger  cities  of  the 
East,  it  was  everywhere  proclaimed  the  model  military 
company  of  America,  while  the  popularity  of  its  com- 
mander rose  to  a  pitch  quite  unique  in  the  history  of  the 
country. 

But  as  in  that  time  of  peace  a  military  career  outside 
of  the  regular  army  offered  no  opportunities  of  solid  ad- 
vancement to  an  ambitious  young  man,  the  hero  of  the  hour 
felt  constrained  to  disband  his  organization,  to  continue 
the  study  of  the  law  in  the  Springfield  office  of  Abraham 
Lincoln.  The  disbandment  took  place  in  October,  1860. 
Early  in  the  Spring  of  1861,  Captain  James  R.  Hayden 
effected  a  partial  reorganization.  It  had  been  Ellsworth's 
ambition  to  organize  a  militia  regiment  on  the  lines  of  his 
company,  and  now  Captain  Hayden  took  up  this  work. 
In  addition  to  his  own,  there  was  part  of  a  company  under 
Captain  John  H.  Clybourne  when  hostilities  began,  and 
these,  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Joseph  R.  Scott,  con- 
stituted part  of  the  hastily  organized  skeleton  of  a  regi- 
ment that  was  rushed  by  order  of  Governor  Yates  under 
General  H.  K.  Swift,  to  hold  the  key  to  the  control  of  the 
Ohio  and  Mississippi  Rivers  at  Cairo. 


TO     THE    MEMORY    OF 

COL-.  E.E.  ELLSWORTH 

WHO  rti :  "  ""  '"•'"''"■  '">  «"•>'  1*  --T' 


..,'■* 


m 


VfeB 


OY  A.  J<  VAAS  . 

puBLiSMieo  Br  floor naciy  lhk ago. 

SADLY  THE  BELLSTOUTHEDEATH  OF  THEHERO" 

|^;_ PUBLISHtP  BiAJUDSONHICCINiCHICACO.       ^QN  C  '  BY  A.  AT  OBEY 

By  Courtesy  <.f  the  f'liicii-o  llisl.u  ic^;l  Six  iclv 


"THE   ELLSWORTH    REQUIEM    MARCH" 

(The  Cover  Shows  an  Authentic  Portrait  of  Col.  F:inier  E.  Ellsworth, 

Chicago's  Youthful  Hero,  tlie  First  Soldier  Killed 

in  the  Civil  War) 


RISING  OF  A  PEOPLE  15 

DEATH    OF   COLONEL   EI^SWORTH 

Young  Ellsworth  accompanied  Lincoln  to  Washington 
for  the  inauguration.  He  was  still  in  the  East  when  the 
call  for  troops  was  issued.  So  great  was  his  reputation, 
that  the  New  York  Fire  Zouaves  elected  him  their  Colonel, 
and  this  was  the  first  full  regiment  to  be  sworn  into  the 
service.  It  was  also  among  the  first  to  arrive  for  the  de- 
fence of  the  Capital,  and  its  brilliant  commander  was  the 
first  soldier,  among  the  hundreds  of  thousands  that  were 
to  follow,  to  yield  up  his  life  for  his  country.  While  pass- 
ing through  Alexandria  he  caught  sight  of  a  Rebel  flag. 
Indignant  at  this  flagrant  display  of  disloyalty,  he  rushed 
forward  to  haul  it  down,  and  was  shot  in  the  act  by  its  em- 
bittered defender.  Ellsworth's  death  under  such  appealing 
circumstances  gave  an  indescribable  shock  to  the  country, 
and  went  far  to  open  Northern  eyes  to  the  bitterness  of  the 
struggle  before  them.  There  is  little  doubt  that  in  the  un- 
timely death  of  this  brilliant  tactician  the  cause  of  the 
Union  lost  a  man  who,  through  the  exceptional  oppor- 
tunities before  him,  would  have  risen  to  high  distinction. 


CHAPTER   II 

PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE  WAR 

Illinois'  Lack  of  Readiness — How  General  Swift  Equipped  his 
Troops  —  Precautions  against  Rebel  Sympathizers  —  Work 
OF  THE  Union  Defence  Committee  —  Capture  of  Guns  —  Cap- 
tain Stokes'  Ruse  — Before  Bull  Run  too  many  Regiments 
Offered  —  The  State's  Response  to  the  Call  for  More  Men  — 
Governor  Yates  Tells  what  the  State  has  done  —  Protests 
AGAINST  Excessive  Demands  —  Distinguished  Illinois  Soldiers 
—  The  Board  of  Trade's  Splendid  Record  —  Illinois  Organ- 
izations IN  THE  War  —  Chicago's  Contribution  of  Men  — 
Some  Paradoxes  in  the  Course  of  the  Struggle. 

IT  is  a  matter  of  history  that  the  South,  thanks  to  its 
friends  in  the  Buchanan  cabinet,  was  at  the  outbreak  of 

the  war  far  better  supphed  with  arms  and  ammunition 
than  the  North ;  and,  perhaps,  no  part  was  in  a  worse  phght 
than  lUinois.  Therefore,  in  the  hght  of  the  State's  tran- 
scendent record  in  the  war,  the  first  efforts  to  master  an 
appalling  situation  warrant  some  details. 

On  April  19,  1861,  four  days  after  the  first  call  for 
seventy-five  thousand  men.  Governor  Yates  telegraphed 
to  General  H.  K.  Swift  of  the  militia,  with  headquarters 
at  Chicago,  as  follows : 

"As  quickly  as  possible  have  as  strong  a  force  as  you  can  raise, 
armed  and  equipped  with  ammunition  and  accoutrements,  and  a  com- 
pany of  artillery,  ready  to  march  at  a  moment's  warning." 

The  next  day  a  messenger  from  the  Governor  arrived 
with  these  further  instructions: 

"Take  possession  of  Cairo  at  the  earliest  moment.  Have  your  ex- 
pedition start  as  if  going  to  Springfield  via  Illinois  Central  Railroad. 

16 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE  WAR  17 

The  state  of  feeling  in  Southern  Illinois  may  require  the  utmost  de- 
spatch and  secrecy.  Captain  John  Pope  [one  of  the  future  com- 
manders of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac]  will  join  your  expedition  at 
some  point." 

HOW   GENERAL   SWIFT  EQUIPPED   HIS   TROOPS 

In  his  report  of  this  expedition  to  the  Gk)vemor,  made 
a  month  later,  General  Swift  naively  says : 

"As  you  did  not  advise  me  in  any  of  your  orders,  either  by  tele- 
graph or  by  your  special  messengers,  as  to  when,  where,  or  how  the 
troops  I  was  ordered  to  raise  and  start  with  in  such  haste  were  to  be 
supplied  with  ammunition  for  both  infantry  and  artillery,  with  rations, 
camp  equipage,  army  stores,  and  horses  for  artillery,  I  considered  that 
your  orders,  to  be  consistent,  gave  me  authority  to  provide  the  troops, 
as  far  as  possible,  with  ammunition  for  defence,  and  all  other  needful 
and  useful  military  equipment,  appendages,  and  appliances;  for  with- 
out these  the  troops  would  have  been  worse  than  useless.  Therefore, 
to  supply  these,  my  only  remedy  was  to  avail  myself  of  the  aid  and 
cooperation  of  patriotic  citizens,  which  I  am  happy  to  say  was  cheer- 
fully extended,  and  whose  active  exertions,  in  conjimction  with  Quar- 
termaster R.  M.  Hough,  enabled  us  to  move  upon  so  short  a  notice." 

PRECAUTIONS   AGAINST  REBEL   SYMPATHIZERS 

Within  two  days  a  force  was  got  under  way,  accompa- 
nied by  four  brass  six-pounder  guns  and  forty-six  horses. 
As  the  southern  part  of  the  State  was  believed  to  be  a  hot- 
bed of  Rebel  sympathizers,  and  there  were  rumors  that  a 
body  of  these  had  designs  against  the  Illinois  Central  Rail- 
road bridge  over  the  Big  Muddy,  some  sixty  miles  north 
of  Cairo,  Captain  Hayden  and  his  company  of  Chicago 
Zouaves  were  detached  for  its  protection. 

As  showing  the  state  of  mind  of  the  community,  it  was 
reported  to  General  Swift  on  his  arrival  at  Cairo,  that  a 
force  of  not  less  than  five  hundred  Rebel  sympathizers 
was  gathering  at  Carbondale,  to  move  to  the  destruction 


18  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

of  the  bridge;  accordingly  he  detached  another  company 
with  a  brass  cannon,  to  reinforce  Captain  Hayden. 

WORK   OF   THE  UNION   DEFENCE   COMMITTEE 

When  it  was  imperative,  in  the  early  days  of  the  strug- 
gle, that  something  approaching  military  order  be  brought 
out  of  the  civil  chaos  in  which  Chicago,  like  every  com- 
munity in  the  land,  found  itself,  the  people's  purpose  crys- 
tallized into  a  form  known  as  the  "Union  Defence  Com- 
mittee," a  body  composed  of  leaders  in  various  walks  of  life. 
There  were  among  its  members  high-pressure  drivers  like 
James  H.  Bowen,  R.  M.  Hough,  C.  G.  Wicker,  Thomas 
Hoyne,  John  C.  Dore,  Julian  A.  Rumsey;  and  these  were 
fittingly  balanced  by  the  judicial  minds  of  Judges  Thomas 
Drummond,  John  M.  Wilson,  George  Manierre,  Mark 
Skinner,  Van  H.  Higgins,  and  Grant  Goodrich ;  while  the 
generous-hearted  citizen  class  was  represented  in  a  general 
way  by  such  varied  and  notable  examples  as  Thomas  B. 
Bryan,  E.  W.  Willard,  L.  P.  Y.oe,  A.  H.  Burley,  George 
Schneider,  E.  C.  Larned,  John  Van  Arman,  and  H.  D. 
Colvin;  with  Governor  Yates  as  chairman  ex  officio.  It 
was  through  this  administrative  group  that  the  first  regi- 
ments were  placed  in  the  field ;  that  civilians  were  organized 
into  eflPective  sub-committees;  and  that  Chicago  earned  a 
reputation  for  "doing  things"  at  a  time  when  many  things 
needed  very  much  to  be  done. 

Illinois'  inability  to  equip  six  begiments 
While  it  is  outside  the  scope  of  these  recollections  to  go 
into  details  of  enlistment  that  can  only  be  set  forth  ade- 
quately in  voluminous  reports,  it  is  yet  important  to  a 
proper  appreciation  of  Chicago's  place  in  the  drama  of  the 
war,  that  its  position  relative  to  the  larger  fields,  first  of 
the  State,  and  then  of  the  Nation,  be  briefly  set  forth. 


By  Courtesy  of  the  Chicago  Historical  Society 


THE  UNION  DEFENCE  COMMITTEE,  ORGANIZED  IN  1861 

(Thronjrh  this  Representative  Body  of  Chicag'o  Citizens  the  F'irst  Rejfiments 

were  Placed  in  the  Field,  Civilians   Organized,  and  Chicago's 

Reputation  for  "Doing  Things"  Established) 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE  WAR  19 

On  the  fifteenth  of  April,  1861,  there  was  a  call  for 
seventy-five  thousand  militia,  of  which  the  quota  of  Illinois 
was  six  regiments.  But  there  were  only  some  odds  and  ends 
of  companies  in  the  State,  not  enough  to  fill  a  third  of  the 
quota.  General  H.  K.  Swift,  of  Chicago,  a  well-known 
banker,  being  a  mihtia  brigadier  was  called  upon  by  Gov- 
ernor Yates,  as  has  been  shown,  to  proceed  immediately 
to  Cairo  with  whatever  force  he  could  "conmiandeer." 
This  he  proceeded  to  do,  and  he  arrived  at  that  point  with 
less  than  one  thousand  men,  as  follows : 

Men 

Chicago  Light  Artillery 125 

Ottawa   Light  Artillery 86 

Lockport  Light  Artillery 52 

Plainfield  Light  Artillery 72 

Captain  Harding's  Company 83 

Chicago  Zouaves,  Companies  A  and  B 172 

Union  Cadets  (German  Turners) 97 

Lincoln  Rifles,  Captain  Mihalotzky 66 

Sandwich  Company,  Captain  Carr 102 

Drum  Corps 17 

*872 

But  few  of  these  had  arms,  and  the  stores  of  Chicago 
had  been  depleted  to  supply  them  with  anything  that  re- 
sembled a  gun.  As  to  the  State,  it  had  altogether  this 
remarkable  collection  of  "shooting  irons"  in  its  arsenal  at 
Springfield:  362  muskets  altered  from  flintlocks,  125  Har- 
per's Ferry  and  Deneger  rifles,  297  horse  pistols,  and  133 
musketoons  —  whatever  deadly  contrivances  those  may 
have  been!  As  for  the  batteries,  they  were  without  any- 
thing resembling  shot,  shell,  or  cannister,  and  so  was  the 
State  arsenal.  Accordingly,  slugs  were  hurriedly  pre- 
pared, and  some  of  these  improvisations  are  said  to  have 
made  great  havoc  in  the  ranks  of  the  enemy  at  Donelson. 


20  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

CAPTURE   OF   GUNS 

The  occupation  of  Cairo  as  a  move  in  the  war  game  was 
most  important.  The  States  of  Missouri  and  Kentucky, 
the  one  adjoining  on  the  south,  the  other  on  the  west,  were 
both  in  the  hands  of  outspoken  pro- Southern  governors, 
who  had  flatly  refused  to  answer  to  the  call  for  troops.  At 
St.  Louis  there  was  an  arsenal  with  muskets  and  ammuni- 
tion, and  it  was  known  that  steps  were  being  taken  to  trans- 
fer them  to  the  Confederacy.  No  sooner  had  the  junction 
of  the  Mississippi  and  the  Ohio  been  taken  possession  of 
than  information  came  that  two  steamboats  had  left  St. 
Louis  with  guns  and  ammunition  for  the  South.  On  ap- 
proaching Cairo  these  were  captured,  and  everything  on 
board  confiscated.  At  the  same  time  Illinois  secured  20,000 
stand  of  arms  with  ammunition  from  the  St.  Louis  arsenal. 
Thus  a  very  serious  danger  point  was  passed.  But  it  re- 
mains to  be  told  by  what  daring  strategy  this  so  desirable 
result  was  brought  about. 

CAPTAIN    stokes'   RUSE 

In  those  days  of  unpreparedness  many  issues  freighted 
with  incalculable  consequences  were  wholly  dependent  on 
individual  initiative,  coupled  with  swift  resolute  action; 
and  a  notable  exploit,  illustrating  the  exigencies  of  the  ap- 
proximately local  field  of  operations,  was  the  "capture"  of 
the  St.  Louis  arsenal,  by  Captain  James  H.  Stokes  of 
Chicago.  By  dint  of  much  urging  Governor  Yates  had  se- 
cured an  order  from  the  War  Department  on  the  St.  Louis 
Government  arsenal  for  20,000  muskets  with  ammunition ; 
and  now  the  question  of  moment  was,  how  could  the  order 
be  made  good,  with  St.  Louis  virtually  in  the  hands  of  the 
enemy?  The  situation  appealed  to  Captain  Stokes,  then 
fortunately  at  Springfield,  and  he  volunteered  to  deliver 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE  WAR  «1 

the  goods.  So  dominant  was  the  Rehel  influence  in  the 
Missouri  city  at  this  time,  that  he  deemed  it  expedient,  in 
order  to  reconnoitre  the  stronghold  and  take  preparatory 
measures,  to  avow  himself  in  quarters  inimical  to  the  North, 
as  a  friend  of  the  South.  But  once  his  plans  were  ma- 
tured and  he  inside,  the  Captain  presented  a  bold  front, 
and  left  those  in  charge  in  no  doubt  as  to  his  intention  to 
carry  the  order  into  effect.  The  arsenal  authorities,  while 
themselves  friendly  to  the  Union  cause,  did  not  believe  it 
could  be  done,  as  almost  everything  afloat  thereabouts  was 
controlled  by  Southern  sympathizers.  Probably  three- 
fourths  of  the  city's  business  was  with  the  South,  and  the 
first  step  in  a  move  to  relieve  the  arsenal  of  its  stores  for 
the  benefit  of  the  North,  would  most  likely  precipitate 
action  on  the  part  of  the  friends  of  the  South,  who  could 
depend  on  both  the  city  and  State  authorities  to  back  them. 

THE  CAPTURE  EFFECTED 

But  the  Captain  had  taken  all  that  part  of  his  hazard 
into  account,  and  communicated  with  friends  at  Alton, 
some  twenty  miles  up  the  river,  asking  them  to  send  a 
steamer  at  night  to  the  arsenal  wharf,  with  men  in  charge 
who  could  be  trusted,  and  had  Union  fighting  blood  in 
their  veins.  At  midnight  a  makeshift  craft,  but  with  stout 
and  willing  hands  on  board,  tied  up  to  the  wharf,  and  in  a 
couple  of  hours  it  was  loaded  with  20,000  muskets,  110,000 
cartridges,  500  new  rifle  carbines,  500  revolvers  and  a  nimi- 
ber  of  cannon,  which  left  but  a  small  remainder  as  possible 
loot  for  the  enemy.  If,  as  the  result  of  an  alarm  after  its 
departure,  the  steamer  should  be  overtaken  (it  was  at  best 
a  very  slow  affair) ,  it  was  agreed  by  those  in  charge,  rather 
than  have  its  precious  cargo  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy,  to  sink  the  steamer  in  midstream,  and  seek  a  friend- 


««  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

ly  shore  as  best  they  might.  Happily  such  an  heroic  course 
did  not  become  necessary;  and,  once  at  the  Alton  wharf, 
many  loyal  hands  were  in  readiness  to  transport  the  cargo 
to  a  waiting  train.  Thus  it  came  about  that  the  Illinois 
quotas  of  the  first  two  calls  for  seventy-five  thousand 
men  were  armed  through  the  resolute  action  of  a  single 
Chicagoan. 

BEFORE   BULL  RUN,   TOO   MANY  REGIMENTS   OFFERED 

So  many  regiments  were  being  offered  to  the  Govern- 
ment by  Illinois,  that  on  the  sixteenth  of  May,  just  a 
month  from  the  first  call,  the  Secretary  of  War  wrote  to 
its  energetic  Governor  that  he  must  understand  that  Illi- 
nois was  entitled  to  only  six  regiments  of  militia  for  the 
three  months'  service,  and  six  regiments  of  volunteers  un- 
der a  second  call  for  seventy-five  thousand  men  to  serve  for 
a  term  of  three  years  or  during  the  war  —  and  that  it  was 
"important  to  reduce  rather  than  increase  this  number, 
and  in  no  event  to  exceed  it,  and  if  more  are  already  en- 
listed, to  reduce  the  number  by  discharge."  In  the  light 
of  what  followed,  how  hopelessly  inadequate  the  Adminis- 
tration's conception  of  what  was  before  it!  Then  came 
Bull  Run  and  the  nation's  awakening  to  an  appalling  real- 
ity. On  the  heels  of  that  disaster.  Governor  Yates  tele- 
graphed that  sixteen  regiments  and  a  battery  above  its 
quotas  were  ready  for  service,  and  he  added:  "I  insist  that 
you  respond  favorably  to  this  tender." 

The  next  day  there  came  a  call  on  the  nation  for  500,000 
men! 

GOVERNMENT    UNDERTAKES    RECRUITING   AND   EQUIPPING 

Up  to  the  third  of  December,  1861,  the  raising  and 
equipping  of  troops  were  under  the  auspices  of  the  different 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE  WAR  23 

States.  Thereafter  the  general  Government  took  over  the 
entire  business  of  both  recruiting  and  equipping.  When 
this  took  place  Illinois  had  put  43,000  men  in  the  field,  with 
a  reserve  of  17,000  in  training  camps,  and  of  these  15,000 
were  in  excess  of  the  State's  quotas.  Under  the  500,000 
call  the  Thirty-first  Infantry  went  into  the  field  under 
Colonel  John  A.  Logan,  and  the  Eleventh  Cavalry  under 
Colonel  Robert  G.  IngersoU. 

TEN   NEW   BEGIMENTS   ORGANIZED 

On  the  third  of  April,  1862,  an  order  came  from  Wash- 
ington to  suspend  recruiting;  but  on  the  twenty-fifth  of 
May,  less  than  two  months  later,  came  a  hurry  call  from 
Secretary  Stanton  to  "organize  and  forward  immediately 
all  the  volunteer  and  militia  force  in  your  State";  for  a 
Rebel  army  was  advancing  north,  while  McClellan  was  on 
the  peninsula  in  front  of  Richmond,  and  the  nation's  cap- 
ital was  in  imminent  danger  of  capture.  Inside  of  two 
weeks  five  regiments  for  three  months'  home  duty  were 
organized,  thus  relieving  older  organizations  from  guard 
duty  at  Camp  Douglas ;  and  in  the  same  period  five  regi- 
ments of  three-year  men  were  sent  east,  including  the  one 
under  command  of  General  Mulligan,  which,  since  its  re- 
organization after  its  heroic  defence  of  Lexington,  Mis- 
souri, had  been  doing  guard  duty  at  Camp  Douglas,  where 
the  Fort  Donelson  prisoners  were  confined. 

ILLINOIS   ALWAYS   TO   THE   FOSE 

On  the  thirtieth  of  May  the  Government  signified  its 
willingness  to  accept  any  number  of  independent  volunteer 
regiments,  and  on  the  sixth  of  July,  1862,  came  a  call  for 
300,000  to  serve  for  three  years  or  the  war.  Then,  on  the 
fifth  of  August  foUovdng,  came  a  supplementary  call  for 


24  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

300,000  militia  to  serve  for  nine  months,  unless  sooner  dis- 
charged. In  connection  with  this  call  it  was  assumed  by 
the  Government  that  a  draft  would  be  necessary,  and  the 
order  to  enroll  the  militia  in  the  several  States  —  that  is, 
to  put  on  the  roll  all  names  in  any  event  liable  to  a  draft  — 
immediately  followed.  Under  these  two  calls  the  quota  of 
Illinois  was  52,296.  It  had,  however,  to  its  credit  an  ex- 
cess of  16,978,  reducing  its  allotment  to  35,318,  and  it  was 
on  this  basis  that  recruiting  proceeded.  There  was  a  great 
rush  to  volunteer,  to  avoid  the  disgrace  of  the  draft ;  and  in 
a  few  days  the  Adjutant- General  made  announcement  that 
the  draft  was  averted.  But  no  sooner  did  Washington 
realize  that  Illinois  was  free  (whereas  the  draft  was  prac- 
tically inevitable  in  every  other  State),  than  it  coolly  an- 
nounced that  the  credit  for  the  surplus  of  16,978  was 
withdrawn,  and  that  the  total  required  was  52,296  men. 
This  in  the  circumstances  was  a  facer,  for  only  thirteen  days 
from  the  date  of  call  was  allowed  to  fill  the  entire  quota; 
but  it  was  accomplished  in  eleven  days,  while  in  many  an- 
other State  there  was  resort  to  the  draft.  Immediately 
on  the  heels  of  this  drain  came  an  order  that  all  the  old  regi- 
ments must  be  filled  up  to  their  full  number  by  September 
1,  or  there  would  be  a  draft.  The  number  assigned  to  Illi- 
nois was  34,719.  The  militia  was  enrolled  as  a  precaution- 
ary measure,  but  again  Lincoln's  State  averted  a  draft  by 
enlistment. 

GOVERNOR   YATES   TELLS   WHAT   ILLINOIS   HAS   DONE 

Other  calls  were  met  in  like  manner,  so  that  early  in 
1865,  on  retiring  to  give  place  to  Richard  J.  Oglesby,  its 
valiant  War  Governor  could  say:  "Thus  it  will  be  seen 
that  Illinois  alone,  of  all  the  loyal  States  of  the  Union, 
furnishes  the  proud  record  of  not  only  having  escaped  the 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE  WAR  «5 

draft  without  receiving  credit  for  her  old  regiments,  but  of 
starting  under  a  new  call  [which  had  come  on  January  17, 
1865,  for  300,000  additional  men]  with  her  quota  largely 
diminished  by  the  credit  to  which  she  is  entitled  by  thou- 
sands of  veterans  already  reenlisted." 

ILLINOIS   PROTESTS   AGAINST   EXCESSIVE   DEMANDS 

It  seems  to  have  been  assumed  in  Washington,  from 
the  readiness  of  the  men  of  Illinois  to  enlist,  that  the  source 
of  supply  was  unlimited ;  and  in  consequence  the  War  De- 
partment became  exceedingly  careless,  not  to  say  generous, 
in  its  apportionment  of  the  State's  quota,  especially  in  its 
last  call.  On  the  one  hand  it  ignored  all  credits  of  excesses 
over  assigned  quotas,  and  on  the  other  it  increased  the 
State's  allotment  out  of  all  comparison  with  other  States. 
At  first  this  unfavorable  discrimination  received  little  at- 
tention, but  finally  the  "carelessness"  of  the  Provost  Mar- 
shal's department  became  so  flagrant,  especially  as  regards 
Cook  County,  that  a  halt  was  called  and  a  serious  account- 
ing demanded.  On  one  occasion  a  delegation  went  to 
Washington  to  enter  a  protest  against  this  unfairness ;  but 
Secretary  Stanton  refused  to  interfere,  on  the  plea  that  it 
would  disarrange  the  entire  allotment,  and  made  a  strong 
appeal  to  the  committee,  and  through  them  to  the  patriot- 
ism of  Illinois,  to  let  the  unjust  apportionment  stand. 

A  FEW   ILLINOIS   MEN   DRAFTED  AS  A   MATTER 
OF   FORM 

While  it  cannot  be  said  with  a  strict  regard  for  the 
technical  truth,  that  every  part  of  the  State  of  Illinois 
was  free  from  draft,  it  can  be  said  that  no  drafted  man 
went  into  the  field  from  Illinois.  Owing  to  grievous  ir- 
regularities in  assigning  the  State's  quotas  —  and  because 


26  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

of  the  fact  that  the  demand  was  not  made  on  the  State 
as  a  whole,  but  on  manifold  small  subdivisions,  many  of 
whose  assigned  quotas  were  outrageously  excessive  —  sev- 
eral of  these  minor  subdivisions  were  subjected  to  a  nominal 
draft,  and  a  few  hundred  men  were  assembled  at  Spring- 
field, but  only  that  enlisted  men  might  take  their  places. 
In  several  instances,  through  blunders  in  the  Provost  Mar- 
shal's office,  more  men  were  apportioned  to  a  sub-district 
than  the  entire  enrollment,  and  in  more  than  one  the  as- 
signment was  in  excess  of  the  entire  male  population. 

EVIDENCE   THAT   THE  DEMAND   WAS   UNFAIR 

In  only  one  district  in  the  State  was  a  new  enrollment 
ordered,  and  this,  as  a  fair  sample,  shows  how  outrageously 
the  State  was  served  by  the  Provost  Marshal  assigned  to  it : 

Counties  Enrollment  (1864)      New  Enrollment  (1865) 

St.  Clair   8,959 4>,539 

Madison 8,598 4,449 

Clinton 2,372 1,483 

Washington 2,682 1,709 

Randolph 3,301 2,076 

Monroe 3,509 726 

29,421  14,982 

To  show  further  how  exceedingly  unfair  was  the  quota 
assigned  to  Illinois  under  the  final  call,  it  is  only  neces- 
sary to  point  out  that  Ohio,  with  a  population  of  2,400,000, 
was  required  to  furnish  only  26,000  men,  while  Illinois, 
with  a  population  of  only  1,700,000,  was  called  upon  for 
35,541,  subsequently  reduced  to  32,887  men.  And  this 
further  fact  was  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  Govern- 
ment, by  Governor  Oglesby: 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE  WAR  Vt 

"Under  the  call  of  July  18,  1864,  we  all  know  that  the  draft  was 
enforced  against  Iowa.  That  State  was  then  behind  in  her  quotas. 
Except  in  a  few  sub-districts  (townships),  the  draft  was  not  enforced 
in  Illinois,  for  we,  including  all  calls  upon  us,  were  only  behind  as  a 
State,  13,400,  with  a  surplus  of  35,875  three-year  men,  to  answer  a 
call  of  52,057  one-year  men.  Yet  now,  under  this  call  for  troops,  Iowa 
is  exempt  from  draft,  has  no  quota  upon  her  enrollment  and  popula- 
tion, whilst  Illinois  has  32,887  required  from  her." 

And  this  further  question  received  no  satisfactory 
answer: 

"How  is  it  that  our  quota  under  the  300,000  call,  which  is  said  to 
include  our  credit  of  35,875  men,  is  more  than  1 1  per  cent  of  300,000, 
when  without  any  credit,  under  the  call  of  500,000  men  it  was  only 
10*/io  per  cent.''    Please  explain  this." 

On  the  close  of  the  war  3,572  officers  and  68,517  en- 
listed men  credited  to  Illinois  were  disbanded.  Of  this 
number  more  than  20,000  received  their  discharges  in  Chi- 
cago amidst  a  succession  of  ovations. 

THE   state's   total  ENLISTMENT 

The  fact  seems  to  have  been,  unless  the  figures  of  the 
State's  Adjutant- General  were  compiled  under  some  un- 
accountable misapprehension — and  they  were  never  suc- 
cessfully controverted,  —  that  when  Illinois  was  called 
upon  for  a  final  quota  of  32,887  men,  she  was  entitled  to  a 
credit  of  at  least  half  that  number.  Nevertheless  recruiting 
went  forward  to  fill  the  entire  quota  demanded,  and  was 
within  less  than  5,000  of  completion,  when  by  order  of  the 
War  Department  all  recruiting  ceased.  The  State's  proud 
total  enlistment  for  the  war  was  231,488  men,  a  showing 
both  per  quota  and  enrollment  far  above  that  made  by  any 
other  State. 


«8  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

The  following  shows  the  different  calls  and  quotas  as- 
signed to  Illinois : 

Quotas  for 
Calls  Illinois 

April  15,  1861 75,000 6,000 

July  21,  1861 500,000 42,035 

October  1,  1863 300,000. 27,930 

February  1,  1864 500,000 46,309 

March  4,  1864 200,000 18,564 

July  18,  1864 500,000 52,057 

December  19,  1864 300,000 32,887 


Total 225,779 

Total  enlistment  roll 231,488 


Excess  of  enlistment  over  quotas 5,709 

The  above  figures  show  some  striking  variations  in  the 
proportions  demanded.  Thus  while  in  1861,  in  a  call  for 
500,000,  the  State's  proportion  was  42,032,  in  1864,  under 
a  similar  call,  it  was  raised  to  52,057  —  and  the  other  calls 
show  similar  disproportions  against  the  State. 

ILLINOIS   ORGANIZATIONS   IN   THE   WAR 

The  following  is  a  list  of  Illinois  organizations,  as 
furnished  for  this  record  by  the  Adjutant-General's  office 
in  Springfield.  In  their  way,  the  terms  of  service,  from 
three  months  to  three  years,  interspersed  with  100-day  and 
one-year  men,  illustrate  the  different  stages  of  the  war,  its 
ups,  downs,  and  sudden  emergencies,  as  clearly  as  a  de- 
tailed description : 

7th  to  12th  Infantry,  3  months.        132nd  to  143d  Infantry,  100  days. 
7th  to  66th  Infantry,  S  years.  144th  to  156th  Infantry,  1  year. 

67th  to  71st  Infantry,  3  months.      1st  to  I7th  Cavalry,  3  years. 
72d  to  131st  Infantry,  3  years.       1st  to  2nd  Artillery,  3  years. 
29th  U.  S.   Infantry   (Colored  Troops). 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE  WAR  29 

Besides  the  two  artillery  regiments  noted,  there 
were  independent  batteries,  all  for  three  years,  as  follows: 
Chicago  Mercantile,  Springfield  Light  Artillery,  Coggs- 
well's,  Renwick's  Elgin,  Henshaw's,  Bridges',  Colvin's, 
Chapman's ;  and  Campbell's  three-months'  battery. 

THE   BOARD   OF   TRADE  RAISES   TROOPS 

In  giving  credit  for  zeal  and  efficient  service  to  various 
classes  and  bodies  of  men  in  Chicago  during  the  war,  the 
part  played  by  the  Board  of  Trade  should  not  be  over- 
looked. Indeed,  it  probably  did  more  to  further  enlist- 
ments than  any  other  body  of  citizens  in  proportion  to  its 
wealth  and  numbers;  while  in  the  matter  of  example  it 
was  always  a  shining  light  and  heartening  leader.  On  an 
occasion  when  the  calls  for  troops  piled  so  rapidly  one  upon 
another,  that  before  there  was  time  to  fill  one  quota  another 
was  knocking  at  the  door,  an  extraordinary  war  meeting 
of  the  Board  was  called  at  the  request  of  the  following 
members:  George  Steel,  William  Sturges,  E.  Akin,  M. 
C.  Stearns,  Ira  Y.  Munn,  G.  L.  Scott,  C.  H.  Walker,  Jr., 
E.  G.  Wolcott,  and  Messrs.  Flint  and  Thompson.  The 
meeting  was  presided  over  by  Colonel  John  L.  Hancock, 
to  my  mind  at  this  time  the  most  masterful  personality  in 
the  city;  and  through  the  work  there  begun  a  number  of 
Board  of  Trade  regiments  were  recruited  and  as  quickly 
as  possible  put  in  the  field. 

A   FINAL    "come   ONE,    COME   Aix"   RALLY 

In  response  to  the  last  call,  the  men  were  rendezvoused 
at  Camp  Fry,  in  the  precincts  of  Lake  View,  under  the  ef- 
ficient supervision  of  Colonel  Hancock.  To  expedite  the 
work  of  volunteering,  the  services  of  prominent  speakers 
from  other  parts  of  the  countr}^  were  enlisted,  mass  meet- 


30  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

ings  were  held  in  different  parts  of  the  city,  scores  of  re- 
cruiting offices  were  opened  (a  desjiatch  to  The  New  York 
Herald  gave  fifty  as  the  number) ,  and  to  keep  the  enthusi- 
asm at  concert  pitch,  the  Lumbard  war  quartette  was  kept 
untiringly  on  the  move. 

Chicago's  contribution  of  men 

Chicago  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war  had  a  population 
approximating  100,000.  Her  contribution  of  men  to  the 
war  was  in  round  numbers  about  15,000  (Cook  County's 
total  being  22,436).  When  it  is  considered  that  the  city's 
total  vote  in  1860  was  only  18,747,  which  in  1862,  under 
the  drain  of  the  war  had  fallen  to  13,670,  it  can  easily  be 
seen  what  an  important  part  the  war  played  in  the  every- 
day life  of  the  people,  and  the  affairs  of  the  city. 

DISTINGUISHED   ILLINOIS   SOLDIERS 

Illinois  was  distinguished  on  the  roll  of  the  Union  army 
by  its  Lieutenant-General  Grant,  nine  full  Major-Gener- 
als,  53  Major- Generals  by  brevet,  and  125  Brigadier-Gen- 
erals. The  full  Major-Generals  were:  John  A.  Logan, 
John  Pope,  John  M.  Schofield,  John  M.  Palmer,  John  A. 
McClernand,  Richard  J.  Oglesby,  Stephen  A.  Hurlbut, 
Benjamin  M.  Prentiss,  and  Giles  A.  Smith.  In  scanning 
the  list  of  Illinois  soldiers  who  exceptionally  distinguished 
themselves,  it  is  interesting  to  note  the  number  of  Smiths 
who  rose  to  high  honors,  for  besides  the  full  Major- 
General,  Giles  A.,  there  are  among  the  53  brevet  major- 
generals  no  less  than  seven,  whereas  not  one  other  surname 
is  duplicated;  while  among  the  125  brigadiers  there  are  but 
two  Smiths  left  behind  in  the  race  for  the  higher  goal.  The 
more  distinguished  Smiths  are  Arthur  A.,  Franklin  C, 
George  W.,  Gustavus  A.,  John  C,  John  E.,  Robert  F., 


COL.   JOHN    L.   HANCOCK 


HON.  THOMAS    B.   BRYAN 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE  WAR  31 

and  Robert  W.  Among  the  wags  it  used  to  be  said  that 
in  the  multiplicity  of  Smiths,  and  other  similarities  to  add 
to  the  confusion,  such  as  a  John  C.  and  a  John  E.,  a  Rob- 
ert F.  and  a  Robert  W.,  the  glory  achieved  by  each  fell 
uniformly  upon  all ;  and,  unwilling  to  go  to  the  trouble  of 
untangling  this  wealth  of  laurels,  Uncle  Sam  accepted  the 
composite  Smith  as  the  type;  and,  lest  injustice  should  be 
done,  gave  to  each  the  honors  due  the  entire  family.  Aye, 
but  there  were  fine  soldiers  among  these  Smiths  I 

SOME  PARADOXES  IN  THE  COURSE  OF  THE  WAR 

The  war  was  in  many  respects  a  succession  of  surprises 
and  paradoxes.  Over  and  over  it  was  the  unexpected  that 
happened,  as  when  the  Abolitionist  and  the  Copperhead 
changed  places  in  their  mental  attitude  toward  the  war; 
for  there  was  all  along  much  fault-finding  with  its  conduct 
on  the  part  of  both,  but  for  very  different  reasons.  They 
also  changed  places  in  what  might  be  called  their  physical 
relation  to  it:  for  the  ingrained  Copperhead  was  not  un- 
known to  turn  up  suddenly  in  one  of  Uncle  Sam's  uni- 
forms ;  while  a  consuming  patriotism  and  sympathy  for  the 
slave  was  by  no  means  inconsistent  with  an  unshakable  de- 
termination to  guard  the  home. 

In  speaking  of  the  movements  of  the  militia  in  the  early 
days  of  the  war,  and  the  secrecy  that  was  enjoined,  lest 
Rebel  sympathizers,  by  the  destruction  of  bridges  and  oth- 
erwise, should  prevent  the  concentration  of  troops  at  Cairo, 
the  reader  could  scarcely  avoid  the  impression  that  "Dark- 
est Egypt"  was  a  hot-bed  of  secessionism ;  and  such  it  was 
to  the  mind  of  the  Governor  when  he  wrote  his  instructions. 
In  this  same  "Darkest  Egypt,"  at  the  beginning  of  the 
war,  according  to  reports  then  current,  it  was  easier  to  raise 
volunteers  for  the  Confederacy  than  for  the  Union;  and 


32  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

there,  according  to  report,  one  who  later  became  a  distin- 
guished Union  general  took  steps  in  the  early  days  to 
raise  a  company  for  the  Rebels.  Yet,  but  for  this  "Dark- 
est Egypt,"  this  seething  den  of  Copperheadism,  the  proud 
honor  of  heading  the  roll  of  enlistment  districts  for  the 
entire  Union  would  have  fallen  to  Chicago.  As  it  is,  it  is 
to  the  Cairo  district  that  the  glory  belongs  of  having 
furnished  more  troops  to  the  cause  of  the  Union  per  en- 
rollment than  any  other!    Who  can  explain  this  paradox? 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  WAR  FACE  AT  HOME 

Chicago  Cheers  Many  Passing  Regiments  —  The  Eighth  Wis- 
consin's War  Eagle — "Old  Abe's"  Behavior  in  Battle  —  Is 
the  Star  of  a  Sanitary  Fair  —  His  Death  —  Camp  Douglas  as 
A  Centre  of  Interest  —  First  One  of  Many  Recruiting  Camps 

—  Then  a  Rebel  "Stronghold" — Also  Shelters  Paroled 
Union  Prisoners  —  A  Menace  to  the  Timid  —  Its  Environs  a 
Resort  for  the  Young  —  Frequent  Changes  in  its  Personnel 

—  Compared  with  Andersonville  —  Many  Escapes  in  its  Early 
Days  —  A  "Gambling"  Episode  —  An  Incident  Illustrates 
the  Lack  of  Vigilance  —  Judge  and  Mrs.  Morris  —  Two  Al- 
leged Conspiracies  to  Liberate  the  Prisoners  and  Destroy 
Chicago. 

ALL  through  the  struggle  there  was  scarcely  a  day,  and 
never  a  week,  that  a  regiment  or  a  battery,  or  two  or 
more  of  their  kind,  did  not  leave  or  arrive  or  pass 
through  the  city  to  or  from  the  seats  of  war.  The  Wiscon- 
sin and  Minnesota  contingents  had  almost  perforce  to  make 
a  temporary  halt  in  the  city;  and  whenever  an  Iowa  regi- 
ment was  ordered  to  the  East,  or  a  Michigan  regiment  to 
the  West,  it  was  the  same.  And  it  was  seldom,  when  there 
had  been  notice  of  such  prospective  advent,  that  these  mi- 
grants were  not  in  some  manner  formally  welcomed,  hos- 
pitably entertained,  and  enthusiastically  cheered  on  their 
way  by  a  populace  that  thronged  the  line  of  march. 

There  was  little  that  appealed  superficially  to  the  eye 
in  these  realistic  illustrations  of 

"Tramp,  tramp,  tramp,  the  boys  are  marching," 

but  much  that  went  straight  to  the  heart.    There  was  no 
blazonry  about  these  frequent  repetitions  —  none  of  the 

33 


S4  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

pomposity,  glitter,  or  finery  that  on  occasion  enables  our 
militia  to  charge  with  envy  the  heart  of  the  callow  youth 
or  set  the  maidenly  bosom  in  a  flutter.  No,  there  was  none 
of  this,  but  overmuch  grime  and  unkemptness,  especially 
in  the  instance  of  returning  regiments  —  either  when  hon- 
orably discharged  or  sent  home  on  a  well-earned  recruiting 
furlough  to  put  on  new  flesh.  Some  regiments  by  the 
havoc  of  war  had  been  reduced  to  mere  skeletons  of  the 
originals.  In  these  circumstances,  the  bullet-torn  battle- 
flags,  zealously  guarded  by  the  surviving  remnant,  and 
borne  proudly  aloft,  reflected  a  glory  that  extended  for 
loyal  eyes  to  the  last  tatter  of  their  war-worn  uniforms. 

THE  EIGHTH    WISCONSIN'S   WAR   EAGLE 

Of  the  many  regiments  of  passage  the  Eighth  Wiscon- 
sin received  most  attention,  both  on  leaving  for  the  field, 
in  October,  1861,  and  on  its  return,  in  the  Fall  of  1865; 
and  all  on  account  of  its  war  eagle,  the  most  famous  living 
example  of  our  national  emblem  in  the  country's  history. 
When,  at  the  beginning  of  the  war.  Company  C  of  this 
command  was  recruiting  in  the  lumber  district  at  Eau 
Claire,  a  Chippewa  Indian  captured  an  eagle  only  a  few 
months  old;  and  the  "boys,"  as  true  sons  of  the  Chippewa 
Valley,  "chipped  in"  to  the  extent  of  two  and  a  half  dol- 
lars and  bought  it.  They  built  a  perch  for  their  prize, 
named  him  "Old  Abe,"  swore  him  into  the  service,  and 
elected  James  McGinnis  to  the  honor  of  "eagle-bearer." 
From  that  time  the  company  came  to  be  known  as  the 
"Eau  Claire  Eagles,"  and  the  command  as  the  "Wisconsin 
Eagle  Regiment."  Long  before  it  was  ready  to  start  for 
the  front,  young  "Old  Abe's"  fame  had  spread  abroad; 
and  when  the  regiment  passed  through  Chicago  on  its  way 
to  the  seat  of  war,  the  route  of  passage  was  densely  lined 


'OLD  ABE,"  THE  EIGHTH  WISCONSIN'S  WAR  EAGLE 

(Exhibited  in  Chicago  at  the-  Sanitary  Fair  of  1S63) 


1 


THE  WAR  FACE  AT  HOME  35 

to  give  it  a  welcome,  and  never  was  bird  more  enthusias- 
tically acclaimed. 

HOW  "old  abe"  met  the  enemy 

Thereafter  one  heard  frequently  of  the  President's 
alter  ego  and  his  behavior  in  battle.  Accordingly,  when 
two  years  later  the  first  Sanitary  Fair  was  organized,  and 
its  promoters  were  casting  about  for  attractions,  it  oc- 
curred to  somebody  to  secure  "Old  Abe";  and  as  just  then 
there  was  something  of  a  lull  at  the  front,  the  bird,  along 
with  his  proud  bearer,  was  in  due  form  granted  "leave  of 
absence  on  special  service,"  and  so  became  the  fair's  top- 
liner.  Photographs  of  him  were  sold  by  tens  of  thousands ; 
also  numerous  feathers;  and  some  that  were  avowed  to 
have  been  separated  from  him  by  Rebel  bullets  brought 
fabulous  prices. 

It  was  an  article  of  faith  with  the  army  that  "Old  Abe" 
bore  a  charmed  life,  —  that  the  bullet  that  could  kill  him 
had  not  been  cast,  —  and  events  went  far  to  justify  this 
belief;  for  though  he  was  always  well  to  the  front  in  the 
twenty  battles  and  sixty  skirmishes  with  which  the  "  Eagle 
Regiment"  is  credited,  and  while  its  flag  was  shot  to  tat- 
ters, "Old  Abe,"  though  frequently  "ruffled,"  never  lost 
a  drop  of  blood.  The  fiercer  raged  the  battle,  the  higher 
would  he  rise  on  his  lofty  perch,  the  bolder  flap  his  wings, 
and  the  louder  send  forth  his  screams  of  defiance. 

"old  abe's"  behavior  during  leave  op  absence 

When  on  exhibition  at  the  fair  he  made  it  plain  that 
he  had  but  a  poor  opinion  of  his  surroundings  —  that  he 
missed  the  bugle  call  and  the  roar  of  battle.  Then  it  hap- 
pened one  day  that  a  noted  war  orator  in  attendance  was 
called  on  for  a  speech.    No  sooner  had  he  got  well  started 


36  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

than  "Old  Abe"  rose  on  his  perch,  flapped  his  wings,  and 
evidently  mistaking  what  he  heard  for  the  familiar,  terror- 
inspiring  "Rebel  yell,"  screeched  a  wild  defiance.  This  is 
probably  the  only  instance  when  an  orator  in  very  fact 
made  the  American  eagle  scream.  It  was  also  proof  that 
what  this  particular  specimen  needed  to  show  him  off  was 
noise;  and  thereafter,  in  the  absence  of  orators  of  the 
requisite  calibre,  whenever  it  was  desired  to  get  a  rise  out 
of  his  high-mightiness,  the  young  people  would  gather 
about  him  and  deliver  what  probably  led  to  the  present 
terror-inspiring  college  yell. 

It  is,  perhaps,  needless  to  add  that  this  idol  of  both  old 
and  young,  on  his  return  from  the  war  as  a  full-fledged, 
laurel-crowned  veteran,  received  an  ovation  such  as  eagle 
never  had  before;  while  the  waves  of  applause  that  rose 
from  thousands  of  throats  at  every  point  of  vantage  on  the 
route  through  the  city,  were  sufficiently  in  similitude  of  the 
roar  of  battle  to  keep  the  great  war  bird  in  a  high  state  of 
demonstration. 

"old  abe's"  death  and  apotheosis 

In  the  subsequent  piping  times  of  peace  "Old  Abe" 
became  a  ward  of  the  State  of  Wisconsin,  with  headquar- 
ters at  Madison;  and  there  grim  death,  which  had  so  often 
spared  him  when  so  many  fell  at  his  side,  called  him  on  the 
twenty-sixth  of  March,  1881,  for  a  final  "rise"  to  a  higher 
eyrie. 

But  it  was  to  no  ordinary  foe  that  this  battle-crowned 
King  of  the  Air  yielded  his  life  —  to  no  element  not  the 
equal  of  his  own  royal  dominion.  It  was  through  fire  in 
the  State's  capitol  that  the  end  came  by  suffocation.  For- 
tunately, not  a  feather  of  "Old  Abe's"  body  was  injured; 
and   by   grace   of   the   taxidermist,    his    outward    sem- 


THE  WAR  FACE  AT  HOME  87 

blance  continued  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  to  re- 
ceive the  homage  of  the  rising  generation  of  Badgerites. 
But  the  envious  Fates  had  decreed  that  no  slightest  vestige 
of  so  historic  an  exemplar  of  our  national  emblem  should 
remain  visible  to  mortal  eye;  and  so,  on  February  27,  1904, 
when  the  capitol  was  again  fire-stricken,  there  ascended 
from  the  memorial  chamber  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Re- 
public—  verily  as  incense  to  the  God  of  Battles  —  Wis- 
consin's proudest  possession,  to  join  its  awaiting  spirit  in 
the  halls  of  Valhalla!  And  as  most  fitting  and  loyal  com- 
pany, there  were  consumed  with  it  the  priceless  battle- 
flags  and  other  cherished  memorials  of  the  State's  proud 
share  in  the  greatest  struggle  for  freedom  in  the  world's 
history.     What  an  irreparable  loss! 

Chicago's  camps  for  recruits  and  prisoners 

Few  countries  were  ever  so  completely  or  so  uninter- 
ruptedly possessed  by  a  war  as  this  land  during  the  four 
years  of  our  great  civil  strife ;  and  except  in  those  parts  of 
the  South  where  the  actual  struggle  took  place,  perhaps  no 
locality  felt  its  impact  more  directly,  or  lived  in  the  pres- 
ence of  its  varied  accompaniments  more  persistently,  than 
Chicago.  Not  only  was  this  city  a  leading  recruiting  cen- 
tre and  passageway  to  and  from  the  field,  but  from  the 
first  year  of  the  war  to  the  end  there  were  imprisoned  in 
its  immediate  vicinity  (the  spot  is  now  in  the  very  heart  of 
one  of  its  great  divisions)  for  most  of  the  time,  a  number 
sufficient  to  constitute  a  Rebel  army  corps.  It  was  because 
there  were  here  great  recruiting  camps,  with  fairly  sub- 
stantial barracks,  that  Chicago  was  elected  to  this  doubtful 
distinction  in  the  first  instance;  and  its  continuance  was 
largely  due  to  the  fact  that  nearly  all  the  prisoners  captured 
in  large  bodies  by  the  Federal  arms  were  taken  in  the 


38  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

West ;  whereas  it  was  the  Eastern  Union  armies  that  filled 
Andersonville  and  other  Southern  prison  camps. 

CAMP  DOUGLAS   A   MENACE   TO   THE   TIMID,    A   RESORT    FOR 

THE  YOUNG 

The  Rebel  horde  that  was  confined  in  Camp  Douglas 
was  a  source  of  mixed  sensations  to  the  people  of  the  city. 
To  the  timid  it  was  an  ever-present  menace ;  and  during  its 
continuance  real  estate  in  its  neighborhood  was  little  in  de- 
mand for  permanent  improvement,  though  considerable 
ground  thereabout  was  covered  by  temporary  ramshackles, 
occupied  by  dealers  in  provisions.  But  for  young  people 
it  was  as  natural  on  a  summer  Sunday  afternoon  to  take  a 
horse  car  for  Camp  Douglas  (and  a  most  tedious  ride  it 
was)  as  it  is  in  these  days  for  the  same  kind  to  take  a  trol- 
ley for  Riverview;  and  in  this  they  but  followed  a  habit 
that  had  grown  upon  thousands  when  Camp  Douglas  was 
a  great  recruiting  rendezvous,  and  there  were  fathers, 
brothers,  or  sweethearts  to  visit.  Furthermore,  for  a  con- 
siderable period  after  the  surrender  of  Harper's  Ferry  to 
the  Confederates,  something  like  seven  thousand  paroled 
Union  prisoners  were  added  to  the  camp's  population ;  and 
until  these  were  exchanged,  the  place  was  doubly  besieged 
by  the  personally  interested  and  the  merely  curious.  There 
was,  to  be  sure,  little  enough  for  the  latter  to  see  when  they 
got  there,  unless  provided  with  passes ;  but  for  most  of  this 
sort  it  was  enough  that  the  place  brought  them  in  imagina- 
tion in  contact  with  something  that  resembled  the  seat  of 
war. 

QUESTIONABLE   AMUSEMENTS  AT  THE   CAMP 

Because  of  these  never-failing  Sunday  crowds,  there 
had  blossomed  in  the  neighborhood  other  attractions  in  the 
guise  of  "summer  gardens,"  with  all  the  noxious  allure- 


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THE  WAR  FACE  AT  HOME  S9 

merits  common  to  resorts  of  this  character.  And  so  much 
depends  on  the  point  of  view,  that  had  this  form  of  diver- 
sion been  reported  as  associated  with  any  Southern  prison 
pen,  the  infiamed  Northern  imagination  would  readily  have 
colored  it  into  a  "heartless"  or  even  a  "fiendish"  gloat. 

CAMP   DOUGLAS   COMPARED   WITH   ANDERSON VILLE 

This  writer  had  little  trouble  to  secure  admission  to 
Camp  Douglas,  where  he  mingled  freely  with  the  "Johnny 
Rebs."  He  found  them  apparently  well  fed;  and  they 
certainly  appeared  a  jolly  lot,  much  given  to  horse- play. 
By  a  class  of  Northern  apologists  for  the  state  of  things 
reported  about  Andersonville,  it  has  been  asserted  that 
matters  were  in  all  respects  equally  bad  at  Camp  Douglas ; 
but  for  such  a  contention  there  is  as  little  foundation  as 
there  would  have  been  excuse  for  its  existence.  Camp 
Douglas  was  at  the  door  of  the  greatest  food  stores  in  the 
world;  and  if  in  such  case  the  prisoners  were  persistently 
starved,  as  has  been  charged  against  Andersonville,  such  a 
condition  could  be  attributed  only  to  deliberate  malice; 
whereas  the  excuse  of  the  South  has  been  that  they  had  not 
always  the  wherewith  to  supply  their  captives,  and  that,  on 
the  whole,  they  were  as  well  cared  for  as  their  own  men  in 
the  field  at  various  exigent  times. 

THE   camp's   unsanitary    CONDITION 

However,  as  to  the  charge  of  unsatisfactory  sanitary 
conditions  until  matters  had  come  to  a  pretty  sad  pass, 
that  is  unfortunately  only  too  well  founded.  When  the 
camp  was  laid  out  as  a  mustering  station,  a  thorough  sani- 
tary system  was  recommended,  but  because  it  was  sup- 
posed to  be  only  a  temporary  arrangement,  this  was  not 
carried  out;  consequently,  it  was  in  this  respect  far  from 


40  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

ideal  even  as  a  rendezvous  for  the  Federal  recruits.  Then, 
when  it  is  borne  in  mind  that  the  Southern  clay-eating 
"cracker"  naturally  associates  suggestions  of  muck  with 
comfort,  in  view  of  the  Camp's  overcrowded  condition, 
serious  consequences  to  the  health  of  the  occupants  were 
inevitable.  But  this  applies  only  to  the  first  half  of  the 
prison's  existence.  Later  it  was  placed  in  an  admirable 
sanitary  condition. 

FREQUENT    CHANGES    IN    THE    PERSONNEL    OF    THE    CAMP 

Camp  Douglas,  first  as  a  rendezvous  for  the  early  en- 
listments, and  later  as  the  principal  Northern  prison  for 
captured  Confederates,  was  for  four  years  so  continually 
in  people's  thoughts,  and  its  varied  phases,  frequent  trans- 
formations, and  moving  incidents  in  so  many  ways  register 
the  changing  tides  of  the  great  struggle,  that  its  part  in 
the  pageant  of  war-time  Chicago  calls  for  more  than  a 
passing  notice.  It  was  ever  in  a  state  of  flux.  One  day  So- 
and-so  would  be  in  command,  and  such-and-such  contin- 
gents would  rendezvous  there;  and,  later,  this  or  another 
regiment  would  be  on  guard,  and  this  or  that  variety  of 
Jefferson  Davis's  mjnrmidon!^  would  be  its  guests ;  and  lo ! 
in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  the  entire  personnel  would  be 
changed,  and  hardly  a  single  familiar  name  or  feature 
remain. 

The  camp  was  located  by  order  of  Governor  Yates,  in 
September,  1861.  Previous  to  this,  the  environs  of  the  city 
had  been  dotted  with  camps,  hurriedly  improvised,  and 
during  their  temporary  existence  these  were  known  as 
"Camp  Douglas"  (south  of  the  permanent  enclosure), 
"Camp  Song,"  "Camp  Mulligan,"  "Camp  Sigel," 
"Camp  Dunne,"  "Camp  Fremont,"  "Camp  Ellsworth," 
"Camp  Mather,"  "Camp  Webb,"  etc. 


THE  WAR  FACE  AT  HOME  41 

THE   camp's   LOCATION    AND   COMMANDEES 

The  permanent  Camp  Douglas  comprised  about  sixty 
acres,  just  outside  the  southern  city  limits,  about  the  pres- 
ent Thirty-fourth  Street,  and  facing  Cottage  Grove  Ave- 
nue. Its  first  commander  was  Colonel  Joseph  H.  Tucker ; 
the  first  troops  to  occupy  it  were  Brackett's  Ninth  Ilhnois 
Cavalry;  and  inside  of  a  month  there  were  nearly  5,000 
men  in  camp.  In  the  early  part  of  October,  Colonel  Mul- 
ligan surrendered  to  General  Price  at  Lexington,  Mo.; 
and  then  this  brave  Irishman  was  placed  in  charge,  while 
he  and  his  paroled  regiment,  the  Twenty-third  Illinois, 
were  awaiting  a  return  to  the  field  through  an  exchange. 
In  a  few  months  they  were  free  to  reenlist,  and  then  Col- 
onel Tucker  resmned  command.  About  this  time  the  cap- 
ture of  Fort  Donelson  brought  some  5,000  prisoners  to  the 
camp. 

ACCESS  OF  PAROLED   PRISONERS  AFTER   HARPER's   FERRY 

As  an  offset  in  the  game  of  war,  there  was  a  surrender 
of  something  like  an  army  corps  of  Union  men  at  Harper's 
Ferry ;  and  Colonel  Cameron,  whose  regiment,  the  Scottish, 
was  among  the  captured,  was  placed  in  charge.  Not  only 
his  own  command,  but  most  of  those  captured  in  its  com- 
pany, were  brought  to  Chicago  to  do  garrison  duty  while 
awaiting  exchange.  There  were  thus  gathered  at  the  camp 
besides  the  Scotchmen,  the  Thirty-ninth,  Ninety-third,  One 
Hundred  and  Eleventh,  One  Hundred  and  Fifteenth,  One 
Hundred  and  Twenty-fifth  and  Twenty-sixth  New  York 
regiments,  as  well  as  the  men  of  a  New  York  battery  of 
heavy  artillery;  the  Thirty-ninth  and  Sixty-sixth  Ohio, 
part  of  the  Twelfth  Illinois  battery,  and  the  Second  Ver- 
mont. There  were  now  about  as  many  Union  troops  as 
Rebel  prisoners  in  virtual  durance,  and  during  this  state 


42  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

of  congestion,  the  barracks  occupied  by  the  Federals  were 
burned  no  less  than  three  times ;  whether  by  accident  or  de- 
sign was  never  definitely  determined. 

After  the  Union  forces  had  been  exchanged,  the  camp 
was  commanded  in  quick  succession  by  General  Ammen, 
Captain  Phillips,  Captain  Turner,  General  Orme,  Colonel 
Strong,  General  Sweet,  Captain  Shurley,  and  Captain 
Phettyplace. 

MANY   ESCAPES   IN    ITS   EARLY   DAYS 

In  the  early  days  of  the  camp  as  a  prison,  there  were  a 
number  of  escapes,  for  only  a  fairly  high  board  fence  stood 
between  the  inmates  and  liberty.  But,  as  one  humorist  re- 
marked on  his  quick  recapture,  *'  it  was  a  good  deal  easier 
to  get  out  than  to  stay  out."  At  one  time  several  score 
made  their  escape,  but  hardly  one  got  back  to  Dixie,  for 
their  tattered  butternut  jeans  were  a  constant  "give-away." 
If  without  funds,  they  were  soon  compelled  to  come  from 
under  cover;  while  in  cases  where  friends  had  provided 
the  "Johnnie  Graybacks"  with  Yankee  greenbacks,  the 
temptation  to  enjoy  themselves  after  a  long  abstinence  so 
frequently  overcame  their  caution,  that  a  goodly  number 
were  returned  by  way  of  the  police  court. 

At  first  there  were  only  moderate  restrictions  on  "gifts 
from  friends";  but  when  turkeys  were  found  "fatted  and 
stuffed"  with  revolvers,  and  homespuns  were  discovered 
lined  with  Uncle  Sam's  circulating  medium,  more  rigid 
examinations  followed.  Where  it  was  denied  those  seized 
with  wanderlust  to  negotiate  the  fence  or  bribe  their  way 
out,  they  took  to  digging  tunnels,  and  by  this  means  quite 
a  number  managed  to  reach  the  outside.  As  it  was  nearly 
impossible  to  put  a  stop  to  these  burrowings  so  long  as  the 
floors  of  the  barracks  were  near  the  ground,  and  many  of 


By  Courtesy  of  the  Chicajjo  Historical  Society 


COL.   (LATER   GEN.)   BENJAMIN   J.  SWEET 
(Commander  at  Camp  Douglas;  Pension  Agent  after  the  War) 


THE  WAR   FACE  AT  HOME  4S 

the  diggings  but  a  few  feet  from  the  fence,  the  floors  were 
in  time  raised  six  feet  or  more  on  piles,  so  that  the  patrols 
could  always  see  what  was  going  on  underneath.  Finally 
the  fence  was  replaced  by  a  heavy  oak  stockade  twelve  feet 
in  height,  surmounted  by  a  railed  platform,  from  which  the 
patrolling  sentinels  could  readily  overlook  every  part  of  the 
enclosure.    There  were  fewer  escapes  after  that. 

EXCHANGES  OF  PEISONERS 

The  prisoners  kept  coming  and  going.  At  first  Uncle 
Sam  refused  to  treat  with  the  Rebel  authorities  at  Rich- 
mond in  any  way,  as  savoring  of  recognition;  but  in  time 
exchanges  were  duly  effected.  Sometimes  there  would  be 
as  many  as  10,000  or  more,  and  later  only  some  skeletons 
of  regiments.  Then  a  new  contingent  would  arrive;  and 
altogether  the  number  imprisoned  aggregated  over  30,000. 
Among  those  to  put  in  a  forced  appearance  were  the  "Mor- 
gan raiders"  captured  in  the  Fall  of  1863,  at  Salem,  Ohio. 
These  numbered  something  like  5,000,  many  of  them  Ken- 
tuckians,  and  were  by  far  the  j oiliest  lot  of  the  various  con- 
signments. When  time  hung  heavily  on  their  hands  thej^ 
improvised  "shows,"  had  mock  trials  for  all  manner  of  of- 
fences, and  did  quite  a  trade  in  jack-knife  handiwork,  with 
an  eye  to  tobacco.  A  good  deal  of  the  labor  involved  in 
putting  the  barracks  on  piles  was  done  by  the  prisoners, 
as  was  most  of  the  regular  work  of  the  camp. 

A  "gambler"  among  the  prisoners 
But  there  was  also  a  "serious"  side  to  the  diversions  of 
the  "Johnnies."  General  Sweet,  who  had  an  eye  for  things 
unnoticed  by  others,  began  to  suspect  that  something  sin- 
ister was  undermining  the  morals  of  his  charges.  There 
was  about  many  a  look  of  utter  dejection,  as  if  they  had 
lost  their  all,  and  life  was  no  longer  worth  living.    He  set 


44  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

to  work  to  find  the  cause,  and  discovered  that  a  former  New 
Orleans  gambler  had  improvised  a  faro  "lay-out."  We  in 
Chicago  had  indulged  the  conceit  that  almost  all  of  that 
kidney  who  infested  the  lower  Mississippi  at  the  out- 
break of  the  war  had  made  their  way  to  Randolph  Street ; 
but  somehow  this  one  must  have  been  headed  off.  How- 
ever, the  fact  remains  that  the  confiding  "crackers"  were 
being  "robbed"  in  a  most  heartless  and  expeditious  man- 
ner; and  it  was  the  "ruin"  so  plainly  written  on  their  faces 
that  put  the  commander  on  the  scent.  Discovery  was  fol- 
lowed by  swift  action.  The  "lair"  was  surrounded,  every 
avenue  of  escape  with  ill-gotten  booty  was  closely  guarded, 
and  in  the  official  report  of  the  Adjutant-General  of  Illi- 
nois it  is  stated  that  no  less  than  $150,000  was  duly  con- 
fiscated. The  "banker"  made  a  most  melting  plea  to  be 
allowed  to  retain  his  gains,  but  all  his  protestations  went 
for  nought.  He  said  he  had  been  reared  in  the  balmy 
South,  amid  palms  and  orange  groves;  avowed  that  ex- 
perience had  taught  him  that  Uncle  Sam  was  none  too 
free  with  his  coal  to  shield  sensitive  souls  like  himself 
against  the  rigors  of  a  Northern  winter,  and  he  had  looked 
forward  with  glowing  anticipations  to  the  prospect  of  sup- 
plementing the  frugal  dole  of  his  captors  with  an  accum- 
ulation of  fuel  of  his  own.  That  this  pampered  Southron 
had  a  substantial  grievance  in  having  his  prospect  of 
"money  to  burn"  so  ruthlessly  dashed,  may  well  be  ad- 
mitted; for  the  high  quality  of  heat  potential  in  Confed- 
erate currency  has  never  been  seriously  called  in  question. 
Toward  the  close  of  the  war,  when  it  was  only  too  evi- 
dent that  the  cause  of  the  South  was  hopeless,  several  hun- 
dred prisoners  joined  Uncle  Sam's  navy:  this  branch  being 
selected  as  obviating  the  possibility  of  coming  face  to  face 
with  their  old  comrades  in  arms. 


THE  WAR  FACE  AT  HOME  45 

A   CONSPIEACY   TO   LIBER^VTE   THE   PRISONERS 

Much  has  been  written  about  the  conspiracy  to  liberate 
the  Confederate  prisoners,  with  the  object  of  harassing 
the  rear  of  the  Union  armies.  The  exact  truth  about  this 
attempt  may  never  be  known,  for  there  were  political  ex- 
igencies to  be  served  that  might  well  have  tempted  to  an 
exaggeration  or  distortion  of  appearances.  That  there  was 
some  foundation  for  all  the  excitement  stirred  up  may  well 
be  admitted;  but  that  any  wholesale  scheme  of  liberation 
was  contemplated  or  seriously  furthered  by  the  Confeder- 
ate authorities  is  highly  improbable.  What  could  such  a 
horde,  even  if  partially  provided  with  arms,  have  accom- 
plished, a  thousand  miles  or  more  from  any  helpful  sup- 
port? To  be  sure,  it  might  well  have  brought  about  the 
fate  that  overtook  Chicago  a  few  years  later;  but  such  an 
adventure  could  have  had  no  appreciable  effect  on  the  for- 
tunes of  the  war,  and  the  consequences  would  have  fallen 
in  the  end  most  heavily  on  the  heads  of  those  who  had  pro- 
moted the  offence. 

AN   INCIDENT  AS  EVIDENCE   OF   LAX   SURVEILLANCE 

That  there  were  not  wanting  opportunities  for  hatch- 
ing a  conspiracy  between  those  within  the  camp  and  any 
sympathizing  and  adventurous  friends  outside,  is  not  open 
to  doubt.  There  was  a  goodly  number  of  Kentuckians 
among  the  prisoners,  and  there  was  also  a  considerable 
Kentucky  element  in  the  city's  population,  with  quite  a 
sprinkling  of  relatives  within  the  enclosure;  and  as  illus- 
trating the  lax  surveillance,  and  the  ease  with  which  inter- 
communication was  maintained,  I  have  permission  to  make 
use  of  the  following  incident. 

Mr.  Henry  E.  Hamilton,  one  of  Chicago's  oldest  and 
best  known  citizens,  was  distantly  related  to  Buckner  S. 


46  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

Morris.  In  the  course  of  a  settlement  of  some  family  prop- 
erty, he  had  occasion  to  seek  the  ex-mayor  and  ex- judge, 
then  living  on  Michigan  Avenue,  between  Washington  and 
Madison  Streets.  Mr.  Hamilton  was  accompanied  by  a 
cousin,  also  interested  in  the  property,  whose  home  was  in 
Milwaukee.  This  cousin  was  a  major  in  the  Union  army, 
on  leave,  and  in  full  uniform.  The  time  was  evening. 
Their  ring  brought  an  old  darkey  to  the  door,  who,  on  see- 
ing a  uniformed  officer,  appeared  to  be  frightened  out  of 
his  wits,  and,  in  answer  to  their  query  if  the  judge  was  at 
home,  replied  in  an  obvious  panic  that  he  would  go  and 
see.  He  was  gone  quite  a  while ;  and,  in  the  meantime,  the 
visitors  standing  in  the  open  door  could  not  fail  to  note 
considerable  commotion  within.  Then  all  was  still,  and 
they  were  led  by  way  of  the  hall  into  the  back  parlor,  where 
the  darkey  said  the  judge  would  be  pleased  to  see  them. 
The  old  gentleman  appeared  exceedingly  perturbed,  but 
managed  somehow  to  give  them  the  information  they  de- 
sired. When  they  were  about  to  depart,  Mrs.  Morris  en- 
tered the  room  from  the  hall.  She  greeted  the  visitors  in 
high  good  humor,  and  remarked  that  she  felt  highly  flat- 
tered to  meet  so  distinguished  an  officer.  Then,  in  a  spirit 
of  mingled  raillery  and  bravado,  she  expressed  a  desire  to 
make  him  acquainted  with  some  gentlemen  of  his  own  call- 
ing. With  that,  to  the  obvious  consternation  of  her  hus- 
band, she  pushed  back  the  folding  doors  and  laughingly 
revealed  a  group  of  men,  whom  she  introduced  as  Confed- 
erate officers  from  Camp  Douglas,  temporarily  out  on 
"French  leave."  The  situation  brought  about  by  a  reck- 
less woman's  caprice  was  an  exceedingly  trying  one  for  all 
the  men,  and  the  one  most  concerned  was  probably  the 
Federal  major;  for  as  soon  as  they  had  made  their  exit, 
he  exclaimed  to  Mr.  Hamilton:    "My  God,  Henry!  Un- 


HON.   BLCKNER   S.   MORRIS 

(Chicago's  Second  Mayor) 


THE  WAR  FACE  AT  HOME  47 

less  I  inform  on  these  men  and  set  about  to  have  them 
arrested,  I  may  be  shot  for  this."  Mr.  Hamilton  did  his 
best  to  make  light  of  the  adventure,  but  at  the  same  time 
advised  his  cousin  to  take  an  early  train  back  to  Milwaukee, 
which  he  did. 

JUDGE  MORRIS  AND  HIS  WIFE  FRIENDLY  TO  THE  PRISONERS 

Mrs.  Morris  had  charge  of  the  distribution  of  clothing 
sent  to  prisoners  by  their  friends  in  the  South.  Through 
this  service  she  became  a  frequent  visitor  at  the  camp,  and 
naturally  made  many  acquaintances  among  the  inmates. 
She  is  spoken  of  as  a  woman  of  extraordinary  charm,  one 
whom  it  was  difficult  to  resist;  and  it  is  possible  that  she 
had  somewhat  to  do  with  assisting  her  friends  to  an  oc- 
casional "outing."  It  is  said  that  the  camp  authorities 
sometimes  permitted  officers  to  visit  their  friends  in  the 
city  under  an  honor  pledge.  But  aside  from  this,  it  was 
pretty  well  established  that  the  guards  found  it  conducive 
to  their  prosperity  to  close  an  eye  occasionally. 

The  judge  was  treasurer  of  the  local  "Sons  of  Lib- 
erty," a  secret  organization  whose  ulterior  purposes  remain 
a  moot  question.  That  it  was  distinctly  unfriendly  to  the 
war  may  well  be  affirmed,  but  between  such  a  state  of 
feeling  and  overt  acts  of  treason  there  is  a  considerable 
margin;  and  there  is  little  trustworthy  evidence  that  the 
organization  ever  contemplated  giving  substantial  assist- 
ance to  the  South. 

TWO  ALLEGED    CONSPIRACIES 

According  to  the  record  there  were  two  conspiracies 
hatched  in  Canada  to  liberate  the  Rebel  prisoners  at  Camp 
Douglas.  It  was  in  connection  with  the  second  that  Judge 
Morris  was  arrested,  tried,  and  found  not  guilty.    The  first 


48  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

was  at  the  time  of  the  Democratic  Convention  in  August, 
1864.  The  reason  for  choosing  this  occasion,  it  is  alleged, 
was  that  it  afforded  an  excellent  opportunity,  without  ex- 
citing suspicion,  for  gathering  a  force  to  cooperate  with 
the  prisoners  to  effect  their  escape.  The  vigilance  of  the 
camp  authorities  is  supposed  to  have  nipped  this  affair  in 
the  bud.  No  arrests  were  made.  The  next  "conspiracy" 
was  timed  even  more  auspiciously:  it  was  simultaneous 
with  the  presidential  election;  but  whether  formed  by 
Copperheads  or  "Black  Republicans"  it  would  be  hazard- 
ous to  decide.  At  all  events,  the  reported  danger  led  the 
authorities  to  strengthen  the  defensive  force  at  the  camp. 
Among  the  "conspirators"  arrested  were  Colonel  G. 
St.  Leger  Grenfell,  Colonel  Vincent  Marmaduke,  Colonel 
Ben  Anderson,  and  Captains  Castleman,  Cantrill,  and 
Raphael  S.  Semmes.  Although  these  had  all  been  active 
fighting  men,  accustomed  to  command  (Colonel  Grenfell 
having  been  at  one  time  the  raider  Morgan's  chief  of  staff) , 
it  was  eminently  fitting  to  this  whole  business  that  they 
should  consent  to  serve  under  one  "Brigadier-General" 
Charles  Walsh,  of  the  "  Sons  of  Liberty,"  in  the  cellar  of 
whose  house  in  the  southern  part  of  the  city  many  revolvers 
are  alleged  to  have  been  found;  but  through  an  oversight 
they  were  never  put  on  exhibition.  ' 

OBJECTS  OF  THE  SECOND   CONSPIRACY 

The  objects  of  this  "conspiracy"  are  reported  by  wit- 
nesses at  the  trial  in  Cincinnati  to  have  included  the  fol- 
lowing choice  examples  of  operations;  "To  attack  Camp 
Douglas,  release  the  prisoners,  and  with  their  aid  seize  the 
polls,  allowing  none  but  Copperheads  to  vote."  Not  con- 
tent with  this  infringement  on  the  inalienable  rights  of 


n 
> 


C 
r. 

o 

> 


THE  WAR  FACE  AT  HOME  49 

American  citizenship,  "the  ballot  boxes  were  to  be  stuffed, 
so  that  the  vote  of  the  State  might  be  declared  for  McClel- 
lan."  Then,  and  not  until  then,  the  city  was  to  be  "utterly 
sacked,  burning  every  description  of  property,  except  what 
they  could  appropriate  for  their  own  use,  and  that  of  their 
Southern  brethren;  to  lay  the  city  waste  [though,  accord- 
ing to  programme,  already  destroyed  by  fire]  and  carry 
off  its  money  and  stores  to  Jefferson  Davis's  dominions." 
And  the  official  report  of  General  Sweet,  the  Commander 
at  Camp  Douglas,  is  scarcely  less  melodramatic.  This 
highly  esteemed  soldier  is  credited  with  a  most  lively  im- 
agination, and,  although  a  teetotaler,  it  is  affirmed  that  he 
sometimes  "saw  things"  in  their  absence. 

SENTENCES  OF  THE  CONSPIKATORS 

Colonel  Grenfell  was  actually  sentenced  to  death  by 
the  court.  "Brigadier-General"  Walsh  was  sentenced  to 
three  years,  and  Raphael  S.  Semmes  to  two  years,  in  the 
penitentiary.  But  strange  to  say,  none  of  these  sentences 
went  into  effect:  although,  to  save  appearances,  Colonel 
Grenfell  was  banished  for  a  short  time  to  the  Dry 
Tortugas  —  by  a  climatic  inversion  Uncle  Sam's  war-time 
Siberia. 

Both  "conspiracies"  were  alleged  to  have  been  plotted 
in  Windsor,  Canada,  by  Jacob  Thompson,  of  Missis- 
sippi, Secretary  of  the  Interior  under  President  Buchanan ; 
and  he  is  reported  to  have  been  supplied  with  plenty  of 
money  to  carry  out  his  nefarious  schemes.  Considering 
the  state  of  Jefferson  Davis's  exchequer,  if  Thompson  real- 
ly had  "plenty  of  money,"  it  must  have  been  of  the  Con- 
federate variety,  quoted  about  that  time  at  thirty  cents  a 
bushel. 


60  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

HARDSHIPS  INFLICTED  ON  JUDGE  MORRIS 

While  Judge  Morris  was  awaiting  trial  in  Cincinnati 
a  daughter  died  at  his  Chicago  home.  Permission  was 
given  him  to  attend  the  funeral ;  and  it  was  under  a  military 
escort  that  the  grief -stricken  father  entered  the  room  to 
look  for  the  last  time  on  the  face  of  his  beloved  child. 

That  great  injustice  was  done  to  Judge  Morris  in  sub- 
jecting him  to  a  trial  under  charges  implying  all  manner 
of  moral  turpitude,  a  trial  which  through  the  costliness  of 
defence  in  a  far-off  city  brought  about  his  financial  ruin, 
became  in  time  the  settled  public  opinion,  and  was  can- 
didly voiced  by  Captain  Shurley,  a  successor  to  General 
Sweet  as  Commandant  of  Camp  Douglas,  in  these  words : 
''History  should  do  justice  to  Judge  Buckner  S.  Morris. 
He  was  entirely  innocent." 

It  is  not  pleasant  to  reflect  that  Mrs.  Morris,  so  loj^al 
to  a  misguided  section  of  her  country,  should  not  have 
shown  more  of  the  same  spirit  to  her  aged  husband  in  the 
days  of  his  adversity.  She  was  a  Kentucky  Blackburn,  a 
sister  of  both  the  Senator  and  that  Dr.  Luke  Blackburn 
who  during  the  war  was  accused  —  without  warrant,  let 
us  trust  —  of  a  desire  to  poison  Northern  wells,  and  who 
was  subsequently  one  of  Kentucky's  Governors.  It  is  suf- 
ficient to  say  that  during  the  judge's  later  years,  so  full  of 
heart-breaking  memories,  Mrs.  Morris  made  her  home  with 
her  brothers. 


CHAPTER   IV 

SUPPRESSION  OF  THE  "TIMES" 

General  Burnside Suppresses  the  Official  Organ  of  the  City  — 
Its  Editor  far  from  Displeased  —  Danger  of  a  Local  Rebel- 
lion—  The  "Tribune"  Threatened  with  Destruction  —  Col- 
onel Jennison  in  Charge  of  its  Defences  —  Mass  Meetings 
for  and  against  the  Order  —  Judge  Drummond  Forbids 
Further  Action  by  the  Military  —  Appeal  to  the  President 
—  The  Order  Rescinded. 

ONE  of  the  most  exciting  events  in  the  annals  of  Chi- 
cago was  the  suppression  of  the  Times,  on  June  2, 
1863,  by  military  edict.  General  Ambrose  E.  Burn- 
side,  chiefly  distinguished  for  a  magnificent  pair  of  side- 
whiskers,  had  command  of  the  department  which  included 
Chicago,  with  headquarters  at  Cincinnati ;  and  from  thence, 
on  June  1,  1863,  there  issued  a  mandate,  excluding  the 
New  York  World  from  the  mails  within  his  military  juris- 
diction; and  an  order  to  General  Sweet,  Commander  at 
Camp  Douglas,  to  take  charge  of  the  Times  office  and 
prevent  any  further  issues  of  that  notorious  Copperhead 
sheet. 

THE  EDITOR   NOT   DISPLEASED 

To  call  this  order  a  blunder  is  the  mildest  characteriza- 
tion that  can  be  applied  to  it.  The  unthinking  mass  of  Re- 
publicans hailed  it  with  delight,  and  gave  it  stout  support. 
But  the  more  sober-minded  leaders  of  the  party  fully  ap- 
preciated its  menace  not  only  to  civil  liberty,  but  to  law  and 
order.  Perhaps  the  one  personally  least  concerned  in  this 
crisis  was  the  owner  and  editor  of  the  Times,  Wilbur  F. 
Storey.    It  required  no  prophet  to  predict  that  the  order 

51 


52  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

would  not  stand;  and  in  the  meantime  it  gave  the  paper 
a  comitry-wide  notoriety,  while  the  act  served  only  to  give 
color  to  the  often  reiterated  charge  (that  for  which  the  pa- 
per was  suppressed),  namely,  that  "the  war,  as  waged  by 
military  satraps  of  the  administration,  was  a  subversion  of 
the  Constitution  and  the  people's  rights  under  the  law." 

To  the  Copperhead  leaders  the  order  came  as  a  god- 
send. Through  an  irresponsible  military  zealot  they  had  at 
one  bound  been  fixed  in  the  saddle,  booted  and  spurred, 
with  the  hated  "abolition"  enemy  divided,  distracted,  and 
on  the  run.  Let  it  be  remembered  that  Chicago  was  in  fact 
a  Democratic  city;  that  it  had  a  Democratic  Mayor  and 
Council;  and  that  the  Times  was  the  municipaUty's  of- 
ficial organ. 

DANGER   OF   REBELLION 

The  order  was  in  effect  a  declaration  ot  martial  law. 
Only  by  a  military  force  could  it  be  carried  out  and  main- 
tained, for  the  entire  civil  machinery,  including  the  United 
States  Court,  was  opposed  to  it.  Another  step,  and  the 
city,  the  State,  and  wide  areas  beyond  might  be  in  the 
throes  of  a  civil  war  within  a  civil  war.  As  soon  as 
the  news  of  what  was  to  happen  spread  among  the  people, 
the  strain  between  the  opposing  sides  became  threateningly 
tense,  and  with  "  Copperheadism "  most  resolutely  to  the 
fore ;  while  on  every  side  one  heard  the  threat,  which  grew 
with  each  hour,  "If  the  Times  is  not  allowed  to  publish, 
there  will  be  no  Tribune/" 

As  soon  as  the  news  of  the  intended  suppression 
reached  the  Times  office,  every  department  received  a  rush 
order,  and  the  press  (this  was  before  the  days  of  stereo- 
typing, and  the  duplication  of  "forms")  was  set  in  motion 
at  the  earliest  possible  hour;  while  the  issue  as  fast  as 
printed  was  bundled  out  of  the  building  into  safe  quarters 


SUPPRESSION  OF  THE  "TIMES"  5S 

for  distribution.  A  horseman  was  sent  to  Camp  Douglas, 
with  orders  to  speed  to  the  office  as  soon  as  a  detachment 
of  the  garrison  was  seen  to  leave  the  camp.  He  arrived 
shortly  after  two  o'clock  with  the  report  that  the  "Lincoln 
hirelings"  had  started;  and  within  an  hour  a  file  of  soldiers 
broke  into  the  office  and  formally  took  possession.  When 
everything  had  been  brought  to  a  standstill,  and  the  place 
put  in  charge  of  a  care-taker,  the  troops  departed;  but 
word  was  left  that  at  the  first  sign  of  activity  they  would 
return.  They  did  return  shortly,  on  an  unfounded  report 
that  an  attempt  was  being  made  to  issue  a  supplementary 
edition. 

A  MASS   MEETING 

All  through  the  day  great  crowds  were  gathered  about 
the  Randolph  Street  entrance  of  the  publication  office ;  and 
by  evening  the  thoroughfare  from  State  Street  to  Dear- 
born Street  was  a  solid  pack  of  humanity.  Meantime  the 
city  had  been  flooded  with  handbills  calling  upon  the 
people  to  resent  this  military  interference  with  the  freedom 
of  the  press,  and  making  announcement  that  a  mass  meet- 
ing in  protest  of  the  order  would  be  held  on  the  north 
side  of  the  Court  House  Square  in  the  evening.  When 
the  time  for  this  meeting  came,  and  a  thousand  oft-repeated 
cries  of  "Storey,"  "Storey,"  had  met  with  no  response, 
the  crowd  spontaneously  moved  two  blocks  west  to  the 
Square,  where  by  eight  o'clock  an  estimated  crowd  of 
twenty  thousand  people  was  gathered,  which  was  to  the 
full  the  city's  total  voting  population. 

The  situation  certainly  called  for  serious,  deliberate, 
and  concerted  action  on  the  part  of  all  law-and-order- 
loving  citizens.  While  the  rank  and  file  of  the  opposing 
currents  stood  face  to  face  in  sullen,  menacing  opposition, 
the  conservative  leaders  of  both  sides  were  in  council  to 


54  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

avert  threatening  trouble.  At  a  mob  demonstration  the 
Copperhead  faction  would  undoubtedly  have  had  a  numer- 
ical advantage,  besides  having  the  partisan  police  on  its 
side.  But  this  was  at  least  partl}'^  offset  by  the  fact  that 
the  militia  had  been  placed  under  arms,  and  could  be 
depended  on  to  side  with  the  war  party;  and,  moreover, 
in  any  protracted  struggle,  there  was  the  Camp  Douglas 
garrison  to  fall  back  upon,  though  any  considerable  with- 
drawal from  that  Rebel  stronghold  might  in  the  circum- 
stances have  been  a  hazardous  adventure. 

SPEAKERS   ADVISE   PRUDENCE 

The  greatest  concern  was  lest  the  meeting  fall  into  the 
hands  of  irresponsible  Copperhead  demagogues  who  might 
inflame  it  to  action.  A  favorite  speaker  with  the  Demo- 
cratic masses  was  E.  W.  McComas,  an  ex-Lieutenant- 
Governor  of  Virginia,  and  editor  of  the  Times  under  a 
former  regime.  He  called  the  meeting  to  order,  and  de- 
voted his  introductory  remarks  to  a  counsel  of  prudence. 
Then  he  introduced  Samuel  W.  Fuller  as  chairman,  who 
spoke  at  considerable  length  in  the  same  strain.  After 
Fuller  came  General  Singleton,  a  fiery  Democratic  war 
horse  from  the  central  part  of  the  State,  under  whose 
lashings  of  the  administration  the  meeting  was  brought 
close  to  the  danger  line.  He  was  followed  by  E.  G.  Asay, 
another  Democrat,  in  a  more  conciliatory  vein.  Then 
came  Wirt  Dexter,  a  prominent  Republican  lawyer,  with 
the  message  that  steps  were  being  taken  by  leading  men 
from  both  sides  to  have  the  Burnside  order  rescinded.  He 
voiced  in  no  uncertain  tones  the  opposition  of  the  con- 
servative element  of  his  party  to  this  military  interference 
with  the  freedom  of  the  press,  and  assured  the  crowd  that 
the  measures  to  be  taken  would  surely  result  in  the  Presi- 


THE   COURT  HOUSE    IN    1860 

(Nucleus  of  Business  Centre,  Political  Rallying  Place, 
Highest  Point  of  Observation) 


SUPPRESSION  OF  THE  "TIMES"  55 

dent's  rescinding  the  order.    This  speech  had  an  excellent 
effect  on  the  assemhlage,  and  the  danger  point  was  passed. 

ANOTHER   MEETING   ASKS   THE  RESCINDING   OF   THE   ORDER 

While  the  mass  meeting  was  in  progress  outside, 
another  was  taking  place  in  one  of  the  court  rooms. 
Judge  Van  H.  Higgins  was  at  this  time  a  stockholder  in 
the  Tribune,  and  its  property  was  in  danger.  Largely 
through  his  efforts  prominent  men  from  both  sides  had 
been  brought  together,  and  Mayor  Sherman  was  called 
to  the  chair.  The  meeting  was  addressed  among  others 
by  Judge  Van  H.  Higgins,  Senator  Lyman  Trumbull, 
Congressman  I.  N.  Arnold,  and  Wirt  Dexter  for  the  Re- 
publicans; and  by  William  B.  Ogden,  S.  S.  Hayes,  A.  W. 
Arrington,  and  M.  F.  Tuley  for  the  Democrats. 

On  motion  of  William  B.  Ogden,  Chicago's  first 
Mayor,  the  following  preamble  and  resolution  were 
adopted : 

"Whereas,  In  the  opinion  of  this  meeting  of  citizens  of  all  parties, 
the  peace  of  this  city  and  State,  if  not  also  the  general  welfare  of  the 
country,  are  likely  to  be  promoted  by  the  suspension  or  rescinding  of 
the  recent  order  of  General  Burnside  for  the  suppression  of  The  Chi- 
cago Times:  therefore 

"Resolved,  That  upon  the  ground  of  expediency  alone,  such  of  our 
citizens  as  concur  in  this  opinion,  without  regard  to  party,  are  hereby 
recommended  to  unite  in  a  petition  to  the  President,  respectfully  asking 
the  suspension  or  rescinding  of  the  order." 

When  one  contrasts  this  negative  and  colorless  declara- 
tion with  any  word  pro  or  con  that  might  have  been  sent 
to  the  President  as  expressive  of  the  sentiments  of  the 
passion-blown  crowd  outside,  one  feels  instinctively  that 
all  the  elements  that  entered  into  the  problem  before  the 
meeting  of  leaders  were  weighed  with  the  utmost  care,  and 
the  equation  reduced  to  its  dynamic  minimum. 


56  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

THE  RESOLUTIONS  FORWARDED  TO  THE  PRESIDENT 

On  motion  Messrs.  William  B.  Ogden,  Van  H.  Hig- 
gins,  A.  C.  Coventry,  Hugh  T.  Dickey  and  C.  Beckwith 
were  appointed  a  committee  to  promote  the  circulation  of 
the  petition  among  the  people.  The  resolutions  were  at 
once  forwarded  to  the  President,  with  an  additional  tele- 
gram signed  jointly  by  Senator  Trumbull  and  Congress- 
man Arnold,  praying  him  to  give  the  voice  of  the  meeting 
immediate  and  serious  consideration. 

JUDGE  DRUMMOND  FORBIDS  FURTHER  ACTION  BY  THE 

MILITARY 

And  still  further  action  was  taken  to  restore  the  bal- 
ance between  the  civil  and  military  powers  so  rudely  dis- 
turbed. The  courts  were  appealed  to,  and  shortly  after 
midnight  Judge  Henry  Drummond  of  the  United  States 
Court,  issued  a  writ  directing  the  military  authorities  to 
take  no  further  steps  to  carry  into  effect  the  Burnside 
order. 

No  man  stood  higher  in  the  community  than  Judge 
Drummond.  In  issuing  the  order  his  honor  spoke  these 
pregnant  words: 

"I  may  be  pardoned  for  saying  that,  personally  and  officially,  I 
desire  to  give  every  aid  and  assistance  in  my  power  to  the  Government 
and  to  the  administration  in  restoring  the  Union.  But  I  have  always 
wished  to  treat  the  Government  as  a  Government  of  law  and  a  Govern- 
ment of  the  Constitution,  and  not  as  a  Government  of  mere  physical 
force.  I  personally  have  contended,  and  shall  always  contend,  for  the 
right  of  free  discussion,  and  the  right  of  commenting  under  the  law, 
and  under  the  Constitution,  upon  the  acts  of  officers  of  the  Govern- 
ment." 

COLONEL   JENNISON   PROTECTS   THE   " TRIBUNE"   OFFICE 

How  serious  the  menace  to  the  Tribune  was  regarded 
may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that  the  correspondent  of  the 


SUPPRESSION  OF  THE  "TIMES"  57 

New  York  Herald  closed  his  despatch  for  the  night,  "At 
this  hour  the  Tribune  still  stands."  None  were  more 
alive  to  the  danger  threatening  their  property  than  the 
owners  of  this  resolute  war  paper.  According  to  reports 
the  old  Clark  Street  rookery  opposite  the  Sherman  House, 
and  within  sound  of  the  clamor  of  the  great  assemblage, 
had  been  transformed  into  an  arsenal,  with  Colonel  Jen- 
nison,  of  "Jay hawking"  notoriety,  in  command.  This 
whilom  lieutenant  of  "  Ossawattamie "  Brown,  during  the 
trying  "Bloody  Kansas"  days,  was  endowed  by  the  mass 
of  Republicans  with  an  almost  superhuman  prowess;  and 
at  the  same  time  was  a  veritable  red  rag  to  the  Copperhead 
bull.  He  was  togged  in  quite  the  present  cowboy  fashion ; 
and  whenever  seen  on  the  street  was  followed  by  a  crowd 
of  gaping  admirers.  Armed  men,  according  to  rumor, 
had  been  quietly  smuggled  to  the  lofts  of  various  build- 
ings about  the  Tribune;  and,  in  case  the  journalistic 
stronghold  was  attacked,  on  a  word  from  this  leader 
they  would  strew  Clark  Street  with  Copperhead  corpses. 
These  reports,  however  small  their  foundation,  had  no 
doubt  a  salutary  effect  on  the  more  timid. 

That  Colonel  Jennison  was  en  rapport  with  the  deni- 
zens of  a  number  of  upper  floors  in  the  neighborhood,  there 
is  no  manner  of  doubt.  There  were  human  wild  beasts  to 
subdue  in  that  vicinage ;  and,  as  a  hunter  who  could  track 
the  "tiger"  to  his  lair,  the  Colonel  had  few  equals. 

A   MEETING    IN   SUPPORT   OF   SUPPRESSION 

The  Democrats  having  had  their  inning,  there  was  a 
gathering  in  force  of  Republicans  on  the  following  even- 
ing, their  obvious  object  being  to  call  to  account  those 
members  of  the  party  who  had  memorialized  the  President 
to  undo  the  work  of  Burnside.    When  Senator  Trumbull 


58  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

undertook  to  address  the  meeting  he  found  the  crowd  in 
a  very  ugly  mood.  He  was  frequently  interrupted,  again 
and  again  charged  with  consorting  with  "traitors,"  with 
aiding  and  abetting  the  enemy,  while  over  and  over  again 
there  were  cries,  "We  want  Jennison,"  "Jennison  is  the 
man  for  us."  On  the  same  evening  a  meeting,  at  which 
practically  all  the  newspapers  of  the  city  were  represented, 
was  held  in  New  York,  with  Horace  Greeley  in  the  chair, 
and  the  Burnside  order  was  denounced  in  no  uncertain 
terms. 

On  the  following  day,  June  4,  General  Burnside  an- 
nounced that  the  President  had  rescinded  both  the  World 
and  Times  mihtary  order.  The  result  was  that  the  circu- 
lation of  the  Times  was  largely  increased. 


CHAPTER   V 

POLITICAL  STRIFE 

Chicago's  Vote  as  well  as  that  of  the  State  Opposed  to  the 
War  —  The  Legislature  Prorogued  to  Prevent  the  Passage 
OF  Peace  Resolutions — Ultra  Abolitionists  and  Copper- 
heads—  Similarity  of  Salient  Characteristics — Deacon 
Carpenter  and  Dr.  N.  S.  Davis  as  Types  of  Opposed  Leaders  — 
Republicans  more  Apologetic  than  Democrats  for  their  Ex- 
tremists—  Unpopularity  of  So-Called  "Nigger"  Churches  — 
Various  Shades  of  Anti-War  and  Disunion  Sentiment  —  The 
Author's  Opportunities  for  Forming  Opinions  —  The  Psy- 
chology OF  THE  Copperhead. 

IT  was  by  weight  of  character  rather  than  of  numbers 
that  Chicago  was  able  during  much  of  the  four  years  of 
the  war  to  present  a  bold,  if  not  always  a  fear-inspiring 
front  to  the  enemy ;  for  there  were  times  when  the  numer- 
ical balance  was  distinctly  against  such  an  attitude.  In 
the  Spring  of  1860,  when  there  was  little  thought  of  war, 
out  of  a  total  vote  of  18,747,  John  Wentworth,  Republi- 
can, defeated  Walter  S.  Gurnee,  Democrat,  by  a  majority 
of  1,267.  In  the  following  spring,  at  the  very  height  of 
the  Fort  Sumter  excitement,  out  of  a  total  vote  of  14,677, 
Julian  S.  Rumsey,  Republican,  defeated  Thomas  B. 
Bryan,  Democrat,  by  a  majority  of  1,463.  Thjen,  in  1862, 
under  the  influence  of  the  war,  out  of  a  total  vote  of 
13,670,  Francis  C.  Sherman,  Democrat,  defeated  Charles 
N.  Holden,  Republican,  by  a  majority  of  1,188;  and  again 
in  1863,  out  of  a  total  vote  of  20,346  (a  remarkable  in- 
crease in  the  aggregate  vote) ,  Francis  C.  Sherman,  Demo- 
crat, defeated  so  formidable  a  rival  as  Thomas  B.  Bryan, 
heading  a  Union  ticket,  by  a  majority  of  588  —  whereas 

59 


60  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

two  years  later  (the  election  having  in  the  meantime  been 
changed  from  annual  to  biennial),  with  the  final  victory 
of  the  Union  arms  assured,  out  of  a  total  vote  of  16,505, 
John  B.  Rice,  Republican,  defeated  Francis  C.  Sherman, 
the  perennial  Democratic  candidate,  by  a  majority  of 
5,649. 

THE   WHOLE   STATE   OPPOSED   TO   THE   WAR 

When  to  the  above  showing  it  is  added  that  in  the 
most  disastrous  period  of  the  war  the  whole  State  showed 
an  implied  opposition  to  the  war,  by  electing  what  was 
stigmatized  as  a  Copperhead  Legislature,  and  that  this 
not  only  elected  a  United  State  Senator  distinctly  opposed 
to  the  war,  but  was  prorogued  by  Richard  Yates,  the 
resolute  War  Governor,  on  a  technicality,  to  prevent  it 
from  memorializing  Congress  to  call  a  "Peace  Conven- 
tion" —  which  in  the  circumstances  was  equivalent  to  an 
avowal  of  sympathy  with  disunion,  —  the  stress  during 
1862,  1863,  and  the  gi'eater  part  of  1864,  under  almost 
uninterrupted  defeats  in  the  eastern  field  of  operations, 
can  be  measurably  realized. 

FRANCIS  c.  Sherman's  wavering  character 

Francis  C.  Sherman,  a  rather  negative  character,  at  the 
beginning  of  the  war  was  an  avowed  War  Democrat,  and 
his  son,  Francis  T.,  a  very  resolute  character,  led  a  regi- 
ment into  the  field,  and  returned  as  General  Sherman. 
As  time  went  on,  the  elder  became  less  outspoken  for  the 
war;  and  the  fact  that  he  permitted  himself  to  head  a 
party  dominated  by  its  peace-at-any-price  element,  made 
his  position,  to  say  the  least,  an  equivocal  one.  In  this, 
however,  he  only  reflected  the  average  of  his  party:  which 
through  loyalty  to  a  name,  and  dislike  of  its  opponents, 
permitted  a  determined  minority  to  place  it  in  a  position 


POLITICAL  STRIFE  61 

pregnant  with  disaster  to  the  cause  of  the  Union.  And 
so,  as  one  discouraging  factor  is  added  to  another,  the 
wonder  grows  how  the  good  fight  was  fought  to  a  tri- 
umphant end. 

EFFECT    OF   THE    FIRING    ON    FORT    SUMTER 

Whoever  studies  the  scant  records  that  escaped  the 
fire,  cannot  fail  to  be  surprised  at  the  many  names  promi- 
nently associated  with  the  first  uprising  for  the  Union, 
which,  by  the  Summer  of  1862,  had  come  to  be  classed 
among  the  disaffected.  Many  of  this  number,  and  especi- 
ally those  of  Southern  birth,  took  a  leading  part  in  the 
early  demonstrations  for  the  Union,  in  the  evident  hope  of 
breaking  the  force  of  the  impact  between  the  contending 
parties,  and,  for  a  time,  met  with  some  success  in  tempering 
the  resolutions  adopted  at  Union  meetings.  But  when 
Sumter  was  fired  on,  all  talk  of  concessions  to  or  compro- 
mise with  the  secession  spirit  came  at  once  to  an  end,  and 
only  the  tocsins  of  war  could  get  a  hearing.  Then,  when  in 
the  preparatory  steps  for  the  defence  of  the  Union,  com- 
mittees were  appointed,  it  no  doubt  happened  that  names 
were  included  whose  bearers  not  only  rendered  no  active 
service,  but  the  rather,  as  the  struggle  went  on,  either 
hedged  themselves  about  with  constitutional  objections  to 
the  war,  or  assumed  an  attitude  that,  by  those  whose  hearts 
and  souls  were  bound  up  with  the  cause  of  the  North,  was 
held  to  give  substantial  "aid  and  comfort"  to  the  enemy. 

CONSERVATIVE  ATTITUDE  OF   MANY  REPUBLICANS 

It  is  in  the  light  of  the  strong  reaction,  especially 
among  the  Irish  on  account  of  the  negro,  that  the  conserv- 
ative, nay,  apologetic,  attitude  of  a  considerable  element 
in  the  Republican  party  must  be  sought.    With  the  solid 


62  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

South  in  rebellion,  it  would  not  do  to  solidify  needlessly 
the  Northern  discontent;  and  hence  the  moral  issue  in- 
volved with  the  Emancipation  Proclamation,  now  ever  held 
in  such  a  strong  light,  was  rarely  brought  to  the  fore, 
except  by  the  old-line  Abolitionists,  who,  on  occasion,  stood 
hardly  higher  in  favor  with  the  mass  of  Republicans  than 
the  detested  Copperheads. 

AGGRESSIVENESS   OF    THE   ABOLITIONISTS 

It  was  far  more  through  a  bold  front  and  the  invin- 
cible logic  of  events,  than  by  force  of  numbers,  that  the 
Abolitionist  became  a  determining  factor  in  the  issue  of 
the  war.  He  was  as  often  a  malcontent  as  a  supporter 
of  the  administration.  It  was  ever  too  slow  for  him,  too 
much  given  to  looking  on  all  sides  of  the  questions  pre- 
sented for  solution.  For  the  Abolitionist  there  was  ever 
and  always  but  one  side.  And  even  when  the  slave  had 
been  freed,  so  far  as  a  presidential  proclamation  could 
effect  his  freedom,  there  was  no  end  to  the  fault-finding 
by  the  more  aggressive  wing  of  the  abolition  party,  which, 
until  the  close  of  the  war,  and  the  death  of  Lincoln,  fre- 
quently failed  to  fuse  with  the  Republican  party. 

MOST  REPUBLICANS  NOT  ABOLITIONISTS 

While  it  would  not  be  true  to  say  that  the  bulk  of 
the  Republican  party  did  not  endorse  the  Emancipation 
Proclamation,  it  yet  remains  to  say  that  in  public  a  ma- 
jority of  its  members  seldom  went  beyond  standing  for 
it  as  a  war  measure.  They  accepted  the  fact,  and  on  the 
whole,  gladly;  but  their  anti-slavery  sentiments  would 
never  have  moved  them  to  urge  the  measure  insistently, 
except  at  most  as  a  help  in  crushing  the  Rebellion.    No, 


POLITICAL  STRIFE  63 

those  who  were  Abohtionists  in  principle,  and  by  word  and 
deed  bore  testimony  to  their  faith,  were  neither  numerous 
nor  highly  esteemed  of  the  commimity  in  general ;  and  the 
few  churches  from  whose  pulpits  the  sinfulness  of  slavery 
was  proclaimed,  were  often  as  much  out  of  favor  with 
Republicans  as  with  Democrats. 

UNPOPULARITY   OF   ABOLITION    CHURCHES 

In  every  considerable  town  in  the  North  there  was 
generally  one  "nigger  church,"  —  that  is,  one  pulpit  from 
which  slavery  was  in  some  degree  proclaimed  a  sin;  but 
it  was  seldom  a  leading  one  in  any  community  or  denom- 
ination. And  a  church  that  would  be  "nigger"  in  one 
place,  in  another  might  well  be  held  quite  innocent  of  any 
covert  designs  against  the  "peculiar  institution":  it  was 
merely  that  a  "nigger  church"  was  a  necessity  to  the 
suspicious  pro-slavery  mind;  and  churches  often  were 
called  "nigger"  on  the  merest  rumor  that  the  minister  was 
not  altogether  sound  on  the  main  question. 

The  writer,  prior  to  coming  to  Chicago,  spent  the  first 
year  of  the  war  in  Galena,  then  a  city  of  about  twelve 
thousand  inhabitants.  From  that  city  came  the  General 
of  the  Army,  U.  S.  Grant,  four  Major-Generals,  to  wit, 
John  A.  Rawlins,  John  E.  Smith,  Jasper  A.  Maltby,  and 
A.  L.  Chetlain,  with  lesser  military  lights  in  due  propor- 
tion; its  Congressman,  E.  B.  Washburne,  was  the  Repub- 
lican leader  of  the  nation's  House  of  Representatives ;  and 
in  this  burg,  so  distinguished  in  the  annals  of  the  war  for 
freedom,  a  Congregational  minister  (one  of  the  noblest 
men  and  most  eloquent  preachers)  was  excluded  from  all 
regular  pulpits,  and  relegated  to  a  third-rate  hall,  because 
he  dared  to  avow  himself  an  Abolitionist. 


64  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

VARIOUS    DEGREES    OF    ABOLITIONISM 

Before  the  war,  and  in  the  early  days  of  the  struggle, 
abolitionism  was  of  many  degrees.  To  many  Democrats 
all  Republicans  were  indiscriminately  "black  Abolition- 
ists"; by  Republicans  themselves  many  shades  were  dis- 
tinguished, and  the  darkest  variety  was  usually  excluded 
both  from  party  councils  and  the  feast  where  "loaves  and 
fishes"  were  served;  while  among  those  who  frankly 
avowed  themselves  Abolitionists,  only  those  were  recog- 
nized as  of  the  true  faith  who  were  in  some  sort  connected 
with  the  "Underground  Railroad,"  and  could  be  depended 
upon  to  aid  and  abet  any  hazardous  rescue  work. 

The  writer  has  been  at  some  pains  to  list  those  Chi- 
cagoans  who,  in  the  trying  days,  were  not  only  willing  to 
stand  up  and  be  counted,  but  belonged  to  the  inner  or 
esoteric  group,  and  the  following  make  up  the  total  he 
has  been  able  to  distinguish:  Zabina  Eastman,  Philo  Car- 
penter, Dr.  C.  V.  Dyer,  Allan  Pinkerton,  L.  C.  P.  Freer, 
James  H.  Collins  (died  before  the  war),  Calvin  DeWolf, 
the  Rev.  L.  F.  Bascomb,  S.  D.  Childs,  H.  L.  Fulton,  N. 
Rossiter,  and  J.  B.  Brad  well. 

NORTHERN  OPPONENTS  OF  THE  WAR 

When  beginning  this  war-time  sketch,  the  writer  had 
it  in  mind  to  go  into  some  details  regarding  a  goodly 
number  of  well-known  Chicagoans,  who  in  those  days  of 
frenzied  partisanship  and  bitter,  biting  speech,  were 
frankly  denounced  by  their  "nigger-loving,"  "black  abo- 
lition," "Lincoln  hireling"  fellow-citizens  as  "Rebels," 
"venomous  Copperheads,"  or  "miserable  dough-faces." 
Some  of  these  men  in  later  years  rose  to  very  high  places 
on  the  bench,  in  political  life,  and  in  affairs  generally. 
Much  has  been  forgiven,  and  it  is  surely  best  that  more 


POLITICAL  STRIFE  65 

be  forgotten,  especially  where  the  hostility  was  implied 
rather  than  brazenly  expressed. 

DE.  N.  S.  DAVIS 

One  opponent  of  the  war  I  feel  moved  to  mention,  how- 
ever, and  that  chiefly  because  of  an  element  of  the  per- 
sonally picturesque.  While  the  war  was  waging,  intel- 
lectual or  moral  scruples  to  its  prosecution  were  to  the 
deeply  stirred  loyal  masses  simply  inconceivable;  and, 
when  expressed,  were  bluntly  stigmatized  as  the  merest 
subterfuges  to  conceal  ulterior,  sinister  motives.  Yet  I 
am  firmly  persuaded  that  that  immovable  Jacksonian 
Democrat  (and  a  very  Old  Hickory,  too,  in  appearance), 
dear  old  Dr.  N.  S.  Davis,  opposed  the  war  on  grounds 
of  constitutional  construction  and  none  other:  for,  being 
a  York  State  man,  he  had  no  controlling  Southern  family 
affiliations.  The  good  doctor  lived  long  enough  to  be  well 
remembered  by  a  later  generation;  and  few  in  Chicago 
have  died  in  greater  honor.  But  in  his  virile  manhood 
he  was  a  chronic  storm  centre;  and  it  was  only  because 
he  was  so  much  besides  a  Copperhead  that  his  so  fre- 
quently ill-timed  "constitutional"  fulminations  met  with 
toleration. 

The  doctor  was  one  of  those  crystallized  natures  who 
find  it  impossible  to  change,  especially  under  any  form  of 
menace  or  compulsion;  and  this  immutability  applied  even 
to  his  apparel,  particularly  to  that  relic  of  the  Websterian 
age,  the  swallow-tail.  In  general  practice  he  was  easily 
the  leading  physician  of  the  city,  and  he  gave  much  of  liis 
time  to  the  poor.  Behind  a  face  set  in  those  war  days  to 
the  rigidity  of  adamant,  there  yet  breathed  one  of  the 
kindliest  of  natures,  with  open,  helpful  hands.  Yes,  the 
doctor  was  essentially  what  is  commonly  called  a  "char- 


66  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

acter,"  bristling  with  all  manner  of  points.  There  was 
not  an  ounce  of  spare  flesh  on  his  body;  and  in  manner 
as  well  as  in  feature,  he  typified  the  economy  of  incisiveness. 
In  the  eyes  of  his  patriotic  neighbors  he  was  a  gross 
political  misfit.  By  all  character  signs,  considering  his 
York  State  nativity,  he  should  have  been  an  uncompro- 
mising, dyed-in-the-wool  Abolitionist ;  for  not  only  was  he 
a  temperance  advocate  of  the  strictest  sect,  but  in  many 
other  respects  had  that  itching  for  reforming  things  gen- 
erally so  characteristic  of  his  ultra-political  opponents. 
All  this  made  it  difficult  to  account  for  him;  it  put  him 
distinctly  in  a  class  by  himself;  and  it  was  above  all  others 
the  people  who  naturally  were  most  in  accord  with  him  in 
his  various  innocuous  "fads"  who  felt  most  outraged, 
because  it  was  one  of  their  very  own  peculiar  kind  who 
so  provoked  their  loyal  wrath. 

DEACON    CARPENTEE 

Deacon  Philo  Carpenter,  of  the  same  grim,  unyielding 
stock,  an  uncompromising  Abolitionist,  stood  most  dis- 
tinctly at  the  opposite  pole  to  Dr.  Davis.  When  these  two 
came  to  close  quarters,  as  happened  not  infrequently, — 
more  especially  during  the  first  year  or  two  of  the  war, — 
however  fiercely  the  battle  might  be  raging  in  Dixie,  atten- 
tion was  instantly  diverted  to  the  passage-at-arms  between 
these  exemplars  of  concentrated  inexpugnability. 

In  the  records  of  the  early  days  of  the  war  the  name 
of  Dr.  Davis  occurs  frequently  on  committees,  and  he  was 
by  an  act  of  the  Legislature  made  chairman  of  a  State 
medical  board  to  pass  upon  applicants  for  positions  as 
surgeons  for  the  State  organization ;  and  later  he  accepted 
the  position  of  surgeon  to  the  Eighteenth  Regiment.  But 
from  this  he  soon  resigned,  probably  for  the  reason  that 


DR.    N.   S.   DAVIS 


DEACON    PHILO    CARPENTER 


POLITICAL  STRIFE  «7 

he  was  no  longer  in  sympathy  with  the  war  as  conducted 
by  the  administration. 

HE    DECLARES    HIS    ATTITUDE 

Dr.  Davis  stood  so  high  with  his  party  that  he  was 
chosen  one  of  the  delegates-at-large  to  what  was  generally 
stigmatized  as  the  "Copperhead  National  Convention,"  of 
1864.  His  general  attitude  is  well  summed  up  in  the  fol- 
lowing extract  from  an  address  delivered  by  him  during 
the  Convention  week,  before  the  "Invincible  Club,"  and 
reported  in  the  Times: 

"I  deny  that  slavery  has  caused  the  war,  but  attribute  it  to  the 
pride,  self-righteousness,  and  Pharisaism  of  the  Christian  Churches  of 
the  North,  which  have  corrupted  the  pure  religion  of  the  heart,  and 
substituted  for  it  a  bigoted  fanaticism,  that  stands  ready  to  wrap  itself 
in  the  mantle  of  self-righteousness,  and  arrogantly  exclaim  to  all  who  do 
not  obey  its  dictates,  'I  am  holier  than  thou.'  .  .  .  From  the  com- 
mencement of  this  conflict,  I  have,  for  one,  entirely  eschewed  the  word 
loytd  as  having  no  place  in  the  vocabulary  of  a  Republican  people. 
There  is  one  sense,  and  one  only,  in  which  the  word  loyal  has  any  legi- 
timate place  whatever  among  a  Republican  people.  It  is  the  last  and 
most  insignificant  definition  that  is  given  to  it  by  that  old  lexicogra- 
pher, Noah  Webster,  which  is  'obedience  to  law;  faithfulness  to  law.' 
In  that  meaning  of  the  term  it  may  be  used  by  a  Republican  people. 
But  if  you  attach  that  meaning  to  the  term,  who  are  the  loyal  party? 
Who  are  those  who  have  been  faithful  to  the  Constitution  and  to  the 
laws  of  the  Republic.'*  Who  and  what  party,  in  spirit,  in  temper,  and 
in  acts,  have  trampled  not  only  the  law  of  the  land,  but  the  Constitu- 
tion itself,  under  their  feet  ?  ^Vho  are  the  men  that  have  thus  trampled 
law  and, the  Constitution  under  their  feet?  Are  they  in  the  Demo- 
cratic party?  Are  they  in  the  great  conservative  portion  of  the  peo- 
ple?" 

DEACON  carpenter's  ACTS  AS  AN  ABOLITIONIST 

I  have  spoken  of  Deacon  Philo  Carpenter  as  standing 
most  conspicuously  at  the  opposite  pole  to  Dr.  Davis. 


68  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

Something  more  should  be  said  of  this  veritable  chip  from 
Plymouth  Rock.  The  Deacon  (he  was  deacon  emeritus 
in  his  last  years)  came  to  Chicago  in  1832,  and  was  largely 
instrumental  in  organizing  the  First  Presbyterian  Church. 
Later  he  moved  to  the  West  Side,  and  there  joined  the 
Third  Church.  As  an  ingrained  Abolitionist  he  attended 
the  Anti-Slavery  Convention  in  Cincinnati  in  1850,  and 
was  a  stanch  supporter  of  The  Alton  Observer^  whose  bold 
stand  for  the  slave  cost  the  editor,  Love  joy,  his  life.  Ac- 
cordingly, when,  in  1851,  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  decided  to  keep  in  fellowship  with 
slave-holders,  he  led  a  protest;  and  when  in  consequence, 
by  order  of  presbytery,  their  names  were  read  out  in 
church,  he  arose  and  annoimced  that  on  the  following  Sab- 
bath public  worship  would  be  held  in  the  adjoining  chapel, 
built  by  himself,  and  to  which  he  still  held  title.  At  this 
time,  under  the  lead  of  Henry  Ward  Beecher  and  others 
of  his  kind,  the  Congregational  body  was  regarded  as  most 
aggressively  anti-slavery;  and  so  the  good  Deacon  organ- 
ized the  First  Congregational  Church,  from  which  one  hun- 
dred and  forty-one  churches  have  since  sprung.  It  soon 
became  known  as  the  "nigger  church,"  and  in  the  circum- 
stances only  the  stanchest  kind  of  anti-slavery  people  had 
the  courage  to  cast  their  lot  with  it.  Meantime  the  Deacon 
had  organized  an  "underground  railroad,"  by  means  of 
which  something  like  two  hundred  slaves  found  their  way 
to  freedom;  and  in  many  other  ways  he  left  his  fellow- 
citizens  in  no  doubt  as  to  his  position  in  the  country's  great 
moral  crisis.*  I  shall  speak  in  another  place  of  the  work 
of  the  church  and  its  distinguished  pastor,  in  the  days  of 
the  war. 

*  In  1846  and  again  in  1847  Deacon  Carpenter  ran  for  Mayor  on  a  straight 
Abolition  ticket  against  Democratic  and  Whig  candidates,  and  received  229  and 
238  votes,  out  of  1,997  and  2,739  respectively. 


POLITICAL  STRIFE  60 

AMIABILITY   OF   DAVIS   AND    CARPENTER 

Fifty  and  more  years  ago  the  state  of  the  body  politic, 
as  well  as  the  primitive  form  of  the  social  organization, 
evolved  men  of  the  stamp  of  Dr.  Davis  and  Deacon 
Carpenter  to  accepted  leadership;  and  in  a  mental  retro- 
spect they  dominate  the  mass  as  from  commanding 
pedestals.  Physically  all  gristle  and  bone;  intellectually 
alert,  though  narrow;  in  matters  of  principle  grimly  un- 
yielding —  they  were  yet  at  heart  so  kindly  that  children 
often  declared  them  "just  like  one  of  us."  These  char- 
acteristics were  frequently  conspicuous  among  circuit 
riders;  they  also  distinguished  judges  on  the  bench;  but, 
above  all,  marked  on  the  one  hand  the  uncompromising 
Abolitionist,  and  on  the  other,  the  inflexible  Copperhead. 

The  rapidity  with  which,  under  democratic  equality 
of  opportunities,  and  in  a  transforming  climate,  our 
enormous  polyglot  alien  additions  are  modified  to  an  ap- 
proximately uniform  American  physical  standard,  is  a 
matter  of  general  observation;  and  there  is  little  doubt  that 
certain  native  types,  once  so  common  as  to  represent  na- 
tional characteristics,  are  disappearing  in  what  may  be 
called  nature's  efforts  to  modify  all  exceptional  expressions 
to  a  national  composite.  Certain  it  is  that  the  type  of  men 
of  which  the  above-mentioned  were  conspicuous  examples 
is  rapidly  disappearing.  This  type  was  evolved  probably 
by  the  efforts  of  man  to  overcome  with  rather  inadequate 
means  the  stubborn  resistance  of  primeval  nature. 

LEADERS  OF  OPPOSITE  PARTIES  NEARLY  EQUAL  IN  FORCE 

In  his  reportorial  days  the  writer  came  frequently  in 
contact  with  those  who  were  the  natural  leaders  in  the 
storm  and  stress  of  the  slavery  agitation  period,  and  who 
subsequently  also  stood  in  the  forefront  of  the  conflict  of 


70  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

passions  aroused  by  the  war.  Again,  in  these  later  years, 
he  has  had  fair  opportunity  to  come  in  touch  with  a  class 
of  men  who  have  achieved  leadership  in  shaping  and  con- 
trolling the  country's  stupendous  economic  forces;  and 
while  he  would  hold  the  dynamic  total  of  these  so  different 
Titans  to  be  about  equal,  their  respective  modes  of  expres- 
sion (the  one  all  centripetal,  the  other  as  distinctly  cen- 
trifugal) are  so  opposed,  that  a  comparison,  except  in 
terms  of  mass  or  energy,  is  out  of  the  question.  The  John 
Browns  looked  neither  to  the  right  nor  the  left  —  all  was 
concentrated  on  the  goal;  while  the  mind  that  creates  and 
controls  a  modern  octopus  needs  all  the  eyes  of  Argus  as 
well  as  the  hundred  hands  of  Briareus. 

GEEAT   men's   INFLUENCE   ON    HISTORY 

So  much  has  happened  during  the  past  half -century, 
that  one  may  well  ask  whether  men  create  crises  or  crises 
produce  men :  whether  all  is  chance,  or  there  is  an  outwork- 
ing through  a  higher  power.  Man  is  at  best  a  short-sighted 
mortal.  Except  through  an  enormous  retrospect,  it  is 
given  to  few  to  discern  victory  in  defeat  —  moral  regen- 
eration through  physical  cataclj^^sm.  Had  Bull  Run  been 
a  decisive  triumph  for  the  North,  the  Confederacy  might 
have  collapsed  then  and  there;  and  one  may  well  wonder 
what  sort  of  a  Union  there  would  now  be.  Again,  had 
McClellan  stood  less  in  fear  of  Quaker  guns,  who  can  tell 
what  might  have  happened?  And  Lincoln  the  martyr  is 
a  far  more  potent  influence  for  the  humanities  than  a 
Lincoln  going  to  his  grave  in  senile  decrepitude. 

WHAT  CONSTITUTES  A  GREAT  MAN 

James  Bryce,  the  philosophic  author  of  "The  American 
Commonwealth,"  in  a  recent  talk  f<or  publication  con- 


POLITICAL  STRIFE  71 

travened  the  idea  frequently  advanced  that  great  men  and 
great  crises  come  together,  by  contending  that  such  a 
remarkable  opportunity  for  exploitation  of  intellectual 
power  as  the  French  Revolution,  failed  to  produce  a  single 
man  of  the  first  rank.  In  view  of  this  dictum,  one  may 
well  ask  how  human  greatness  is  to  be  defined.  For  ex- 
ample :  is  only  that  great  which  is  organically  constructive, 
or  in  the  sphere  of  mind  creative  ?  Again,  is  only  that  great 
which  endures,  and  is  no  commensurate  rank  to  be  as- 
signed to  agencies  of  destruction?  Yet,  cruelly  as  it  was 
done,  what  Frenchmen  have  wrought  as  did  the  Jacobins? 
Almost  the  last  vestige  of  the  rule  Napoleon  has  disap- 
peared from  the  earth;  yet  the  yeast  of  the  Revolution  is 
still  at  work  wherever  men  seek  to  translate  their  dreams 
of  liberty  through  action  into  reality.  And,  in  the  last 
analysis,  who  was  it  freed  the  American  slave?  Of  a  verity, 
it  was  John  Brown;  and  Abraham  Lincoln  but  signed  the 
mandate  that  went  forth  from  the  scaffold  at  Charleston. 
The  blow  struck  at  Harper's  Ferry  shook  the  "peculiar 
institution"  from  base  to  turret,  morally  depolarized  each 
particular  atom  of  the  anachronistic  structure,  and  so 
doomed  it  to  inevitable  collapse.  We  see  in  John  Brown 
one  of  the  world's  greatest  iconoclasts  —  a  very  Thor  of 
destruction;  and  though  earthly  "constructive  immortal- 
ity" be  denied  him,  yet  "his  soul  goes  marching  on,"  to 
inspire  unborn  generations  to  strike,  however  blindly,  for 
their  inalienable  rights. 

BOTH    PARTIES   APOLOGETIC   FOR  THEIR  EXTREMISTS 

Both  parties  in  the  North  did  their  best  all  through  the 
war  to  squelch  their  fire-eaters.  Indeed,  except  in  a  few 
notable  localities,  like  the  "Western  Reserve"  in  Ohio,  and 
Owen  Love  joy's  district  in  Illinois,  the  Republican  party 


72  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

was  far  more  apologetic  for  its  extremists,  its  Garrisons 
and  Phillipses,  its  Ben  Wades  and  Love  joys,  than  the 
Democratic  party  for  its  Storeys  and  Vallandinghams,  its 
Mahoneys  and  "Brick"  Pomeroys.  And  even  as  the  Re- 
publican party  was  not  an  abolition  party  fully  and 
frankly  until  long  after  the  proclamation  of  emancipation, 
—  indeed  hardly  until  it  discovered  its  halo  in  the  transfig- 
uring death  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  —  so  it  may  be  said  that 
in  somewhat  similar  fashion  and  degree  the  Democratic 
party  was  no  more  a  disunion  party,  the  main  body 
of  each  being  forced  into  a  somewhat  alien  attitude  by  the 
course  of  events  and  the  domination  of  a  masterful 
minority.  But  at  the  present  time  a  striking  difference 
may  be  noted  in  the  outworking  from  this  indeterminate 
middle  ground;  for  whereas  the  Republican  party  is  now 
most  desirous  to  stand  in  the  estimation  of  posterity  as  the 
unreserved  and  undivided  exponent  of  freedom  during  the 
war,  the  Democratic  party  of  the  North  has  entirely  with- 
drawn from  any  attitude  of  impUed  Rebel  affiliation,  and 
now  probably  frankly  doubts  if  it  really  ever  had  any. 

AN  IMPARTIAL  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERIOD  NOT  YET 
ATTAINABLE 

Thus  far  the  history  of  those  times  has  been  written 
mostly  by  extreme  partisans;  while  for  a  just  estimate 
and  the  forming  of  an  impartial  judgment,  the  material 
(which  will  be  found  to  consist  largely  of  private  corre- 
spondence) is  not  yet  accessible.  Meantime  there  is  urgent 
need  for  well-considered  contributions,  based  upon  per- 
sonal observations  and  experience;  and  it  is  because  his 
opportunities  for  the  study  of  underlying  sentiments  and 
motives  that  joined  issue  in  those  remarkable  days  were 
somewhat  exceptional,  that  the  writer  is  moved  to  include 


POLITICAL  STRIFE  73 

in  these  reminiscences  some  impressions  of  that  history- 
making  period. 

THE  author's  facilities  FOR  FORMING  OPINIONS 

First  as  compositor  and  then  as  reporter,  the  writer 
was  associated  with  Chicago's  four  leading  dailies  of  the 
war  period,  to  wit:  the  Tribune  (most  outspoken  anti- 
slavery),  the  Times  (semi-secession),  the  Journal  (con- 
servative Republican),  and  the  Post  (an  exponent  of  war 
Democracy).  In  the  composing-rooms  of  these  papers 
there  was  never  the  slightest  restraint  on  expressions  of 
opinion,  though  it  may  go  without  saying  that  opinions 
found  their  freest  utterance  when  in  harmony  with  the 
attitude  of  the  paper  for  which  service  was  rendered;  and 
because  newcomers  preferably  sought  employment  in  the 
atmosphere  politically  most  congenial  to  them,  the  law  of 
natural  or  preferential  selection  in  time  brought  the  com- 
posing rooms  into  comparative  harmony  with  the  editorial 
rooms.  This  gives  us  a  body  of  nearly  two  hundred,  ap- 
proximating mentally  to  the  professional  class,  and  in  their 
expressed  opinions  uninfluenced  by  extraneous  considera- 
tions. Obviously,  we  have  here  ideal  premises  for  credible 
conclusions. 

the  war  not  for  emancipation 

Then,  let  it  be  said,  that  until  well  toward  the  close  of 
the  war,  the  writer,  as  an  outspoken  Abolitionist,  found 
even  in  the  composing-room  of  the  Tribune  little  political 
fellowship.  On  every  hand  there  was  explicit  denial  that 
the  war  was  waged  with  any  special  intent  to  free  the 
slaves  —  that  concomitant  of  the  struggle  being  almost 
invariably  alluded  to  apologetically  as  an  incident  en- 
tirely beside  the  real  issue.    It  is  the  fashion  nowadays  to 


74  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

speak  of  the  Emancipation  Proclamation  as  a  call  to  arms 
that  met  with  an  acclaiming  response  to  enlistment.  Ac- 
cording to  my  observation  it  came  as  near  paralyzing  the 
whole  enlistment  machinery  as  any  event  of  the  war.  Few 
outside  of  a  comparatively  small  percentage  of  original 
Abolitionists  defended  it  except  upon  grounds  of  matter- 
of-fact  expediency  or  necessity  —  as  strictly  a  war  meas- 
ure, made  possible  under  extraordinary  war  powers  — 
while  such  echoes  as  came  from  former  associates  in  the 
field  (and  were  usually  made  common  composing-room 
property)  generally  expressed  dissatisfaction  over  the 
situation,  and  often  with  the  added  avowal  that,  had  they 
known  the  war  would  "degenerate"  into  one  of  "freedom 
for  the  nigger,"  they  would  not  have  enlisted.  In  time 
these  adverse  reports  from  the  army  wore  away,  the  minor 
being  absorbed  in  the  major  problem,  namely,  how  to  suc- 
ceed under  any  conditions. 

A   RANGE   OF   COPPERHEADISM 

To  a  somewhat  greater  degree  than  there  was  out- 
spoken abolition  sentiment  in  the  composing-room  of  the 
Tribune  was  there  undisguised  disunion  avowal  in  that  of 
the  Times  —  and  this  conspicuously  only  from  those  who 
were  Southern-born  or  had  lived  in  the  South,  and  who 
were  members  of  the  order  of  Knights  of  the  Golden 
Circle.  This  was  a  band  of  would-be  conspirators,  who 
met  at  dead  of  night  (among  other  places)  on  the  upper 
floor  of  the  McCormick  block,  southeast  corner  of  Dear- 
born and  Randolph  Streets. 

In  most  Northern  communities  at  this  time,  the  ma- 
jority of  the  compositors  on  the  Times  would  have  been 
denounced  as  Rebel  sympathizers.  But,  brought  as  they 
were  here  into  direct  relation  and  contrast  with  the  real 


I 


POLITICAL  STRIFE  75 

article,  many  shades  of  difTerences  were  readily  apparent. 
When  with  Republicans,  these  pseudo-sympathizers  might 
be  fierce  denouncers  of  the  war  and  all  that  it  stood  for; 
but  in  the  presence  of  extremists  of  their  own  kind  they 
would  so  double  on  their  tracks  as  to  land  almost  squarely 
in  the  Union  camp;  and  often  such  a  query  as,  "WTiat  has 
become  of  Jack,  or  Billy?"  would  be  answered  in  the  song- 
slang  of  the  day,  "Gone  for  to  be  a  sojer." 

The  out-and-out  Southerners  could  be  trusted  to  know 
their  own  kind,  precisely  as  I  had  no  doubt  about  the 
standing  of  my  Republican  confreres  on  the  slavery  ques- 
tion; and  not  only  did  they  keep  well  together,  but  would 
say  to  me  privately  that  they  preferred  my  outspokenness 
to  the  now  hot,  now  cold,  attitudes  of  their  supposed 
friends. 

EVEN    COPPERHEADS    WOULD     HAVE    REPELLED    SOUTHERN 

INVADERS 

It  is  almost  a  pity  that  this  Copperhead  pudding  was 
never  subjected  to  the  test  of  eating,  by  a  Southern  in- 
vasion of  the  North.  In  such  event,  I  make  no  doubt, 
not  one  in  a  score  would  have  felt  other  than  dismay,  and 
sprung  to  the  defence  with  the  readiest  "Black  Republi- 
can." Indeed,  the  majority  of  my  acquaintances  who 
joined  the  Union  ranks  were  Democrats.  Of  course,  in 
the  later  days  of  the  war  the  large  bounties  so  freely  of- 
fered were  potent  inducements  to  enlistment;  and  not  in- 
frequently, sad  to  relate,  the  most  consuming  patriotism 
was  attached  to  a  string  with  a  "bounty  jumper"  at  the 
end. 

COMPLEXITY    OF    THE    WHOLE    MATTER 

I  am  fully  alive  to  the  apparent  contradictions  in  this 
presentation  of  a  peculiar  state  of  things  —  its  obvious 


76  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

** in-and-out"  character.  But  the  paradoxical  complexity 
of  the  subject,  its  many-sidedness  founded  on  a  multi- 
plicity of  equations,  makes  it  exceedingly  difficult  to  blaze 
a  straight,  undeviating  way  through  such  a  passion-swept 
tangle.  Certain  it  is  that  any  judgment  which  generalized 
"  Copperheadism "  as  unmixed  secessionism  would  be  egre- 
giously  misleading.  M.  Taine,  when  working  on  his 
"French  Revolution,"  exclaimed  to  a  friend:  "Let  me 
once  frame  the  true  psychology  of  a  Jacobin,  and  my  book 
is  written."  An  even  more  complex  puzzle,  I  imagine, 
will  confront  the  future  historian  who  seeks  to  synthesize 
all  that  is  comprehended  under  the  chameleon  term  "  Cop- 
perhead." Be  the  future  judgment  what  it  may,  it  will 
be  far  afield  if  the  conclusions  are  not  based  on  the  premise 
that  the  "nigger,"  if  not  actually  in  plain  view,  was  al- 
ways somewhere  hidden  "in  the  wood  pile"  —  which  may 
be  taken  as  another  way  of  saying  that  among  the  Demo- 
cratic masses  in  the  North,  antipathy  to  the  negro  out- 
weighed every  other  consideration. 


CHAPTER  VI 

A  "COPPERHEAD"  CONVENTION 

The  Democratic  Convention  of  1864  thus  Stigmatized  —  In- 
cidents OF  the  Memorable  Gathering  —  "Long  John"  Chal- 
lenges Vallandigham  and  Overwhelms  Him  in  Debate  — 
Unrestrained  Denunciation  of  the  War  at  Improvised  Mass 
Meetings —  Lincoln  Accused  of  all  Manner  of  Enormities  — 
Characteristic  Utterances  by  Leaders  —  Reported  with  Ap- 
probation BV  THE  Chicago  "Times" — McClellan's  Candidacy 
Fiercely  Assailed  in  Convention  —  A  "Knock-down"  Argu- 
ment BY  Harris  of  Maryland  —  A  Sudden  Reaction  —  Inter- 
esting Episodes. 

THE  Democratic  National  Convention  held  in  Chicago 
in  1864  was  to  many  people  an  event  of  ominous  im- 
port. When  it  is  considered  that  on  the  one  hand  was 
the  South  holding  the  Union  armies  well  in  check ;  and  on 
the  other,  a  party  in  the  North,  constituting  at  least  three- 
sevenths  of  its  population,  whose  chosen  representatives  in 
Convention  assembled  solemnly  declared  the  war  then  wag- 
ing for  the  preservation  of  the  Union  a  failure,  it  can  be 
readily  imagined  that  the  avowedly  Union  element  found 
itself  in  a  discouraging  pass,  and  seldom  more  so  than  at 
the  time  of  this  extraordinary  gathering. 

While  the  attitude  anathematized  as  "Copperhead- 
ism"  may  remain  a  more  or  less  disputed  question  in  the 
sphere  of  political  psychology,  certain  it  is  that  this  "ism" 
was  often  extremely  aggressive,  even  though  its  temerities 
were  as  a  rule  wholesomely  tempered  by  the  ebb  and  flow 
of  the  tide  of  war.  And  so,  when  for  the  nonce  the  va- 
rious disgruntled  segregations  found  themselves  com- 
ponents of  an  enormous  aggregation,  under  circumstances 

77 


78  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

particularly  favorable  for  kindling  a  "fire  in  the  rear"  of 
the  Union  armies,  the  brands  thus  adventitiously  thrown 
together  threatened  a  general  conflagration. 

UNEESTKAINED  SPEAKING  OUTSIDE  THE  CONVENTION 

In  the  deliberations  of  the  Convention,  which  took 
place  in  a  huge  auditorium  specially  erected  for  the  occa- 
sion at  the  southern  end  of  the  lake  front,  restraint  of 
speech  was  for  obvious  reasons  deemed  advisable ;  but  out- 
side, at  impromptu  gatherings  about  the  leading  hotels, 
most  of  the  speakers  (when  addressing  what  can  be  char- 
acterized only  as  howling  mobs)  lashed  themselves  into 
paroxysms  of  denunciation  of  everything  in  any  manner 
tending  to  give  encouragement  or  effective  support  to 
the  war. 

GREAT  EXCITEMENT  DURING   THE   CONVENTION 

Ordinarily  the  Union  sentiment,  by  virtue  of  the  supe- 
rior character  of  its  avowers,  was  safely  in  control  in 
Chicago.  But  against  this  mighty  influx,  representative 
of  whatever  was  extreme  in  the  various  sections  from 
which  it  was  drawn,  the  local  Union  element  was  com- 
pelled to  stand  passive,  and  let  the  whelming  wave  of  op- 
position sweep  over  it.  The  shibboleth  of  the  hour  was 
"Peace  at  any  price";  and  when  the  one  side  charged  that 
such  an  attitude  was  treason  to  the  nation,  the  other  re- 
torted that  coercion  was  treason  to  the  Constitution.  In 
the  Republican  press  this  political  submergence  of  the  city 
was  usually  spoken  of  as  a  Rebel  invasion;  and  when  in 
addition  to  so  much  that  was  disquieting,  the  air  was  filled 
with  rumors  of  plots  for  the  release  of  the  10,000  or  more 
"Johnny  Rebs"  in  durance  at  Camp  Douglas,  it  is 
within  bounds  to  say  that  the  substantial  classes  were  in  a 
state  of  mind  bordering  on  panic. 


■ 

■ 

|E 

^^I^Br^^^ 

■ 

A  "COPPERHEAD"  CONVENTION  79 

REACTION 

Under  the  spur  of  irresponsible  leadership,  the  great 
gathering  was  turned  into  a  political  debauch  —  to  be 
swiftly  followed  by  sobering  reactions.  The  partisan  rage 
so  long  pent  up  under  repressive  local  conditions  (else- 
where even  more  than  in  Chicago)  having  freely  spent 
itself  in  what  was  for  the  time  an  unrestraining  environ- 
ment, soon  gave  place  to  uneasy  afterthoughts.  It  was 
noticeable  that  many  prominent  Democrats  who  thereto- 
fore had  been  accounted  Southern  sympathizers,  or  at 
least  as  among  those  who  occupied  positions  of  "benevo- 
lent neutrality,"  bore  far  more  lightly  thereafter  on  their 
constitutional  objections  to  the  war;  and  with  the  progress 
of  the  presidential  campaign,  whose  issues  were  set  in  ever 
more  clearing  lights  by  the  steady  advances  of  the  Union 
armies,  the  peace  talk  became  less  and  less  pronounced ;  so 
that  with  the  advent  of  the  Ides  of  November,  the  reelec- 
tion of  Abraham  Lincoln,  which  looked  dubious  enough 
to  many  of  his  supporters  at  the  date  of  nomination,  be- 
came a  triumphant  acclaim. 

PARTISAN    FEELING    STIRRED    UP 

In  passing  judgment  on  the  attitude  of  individuals 
during  those  trying  years,  the  fact  should  never  be  lost 
sight  of  that  partisanship  was  a  very  different  thing  then 
from  what  it  is  to-day  —  that  party  feeling  now  with  dif- 
ficulty kept  lukewarm  was  then  continuously  at  the  boiling 
point.  Great  issues  make  politics  a  personal  affair.  Men 
ranged  on  opposite  sides  would  hardly  recognize  each  other, 
and  the  commercial  boycott  was  a  common  phenomenon. 
Republicans  spoke  of  their  opponents  seldom  otherwise 
than  as  "Copperheads,"  "traitors,"  or  "rebels";  while 
Democrats  retorted  with  "nigger-lovers,"  "black  Aboli- 


I 


80  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

tionists,"  or  "Lincoln  hirelings."    Nobody  pennitted  him- 
self to  discriminate. 

The  Sherman  House,  most  centrally  located,  was  the 
headquarters  of  the  ultra  leaders.  Here  Vallandigham 
and  his  immediate  retinue  put  up;  and  here  also  was  to 
be  found  the  Indiana  delegation,  which,  under  the  cloud- 
compelhng  leadership  of  the  "Tall  Sycamore  of  the  Wa- 
bash," was  the  most  blatant  of  them  all.  A  triumphant 
mob  surged  at  all  hours  about  this  hostelry,  and  its 
cries  of  "Speech!"  "Speech!"  would  bring  to  the  balcony 
first  one  and  then  another  of  the  popular  favorites  —  the 
measure  of  acclaim  with  which  their  appearance  was 
greeted  being  usually  ^n  proportion  to  lengths  of  time  they 
had  served  in  some  "Lincoln  bastille."  On  the  floor  of 
the  Convention  the  hot-heads  were  forced  to  be  somewhat 
on  their  good  behavior,  for  whatever  was  said  went  on 
record ;  but  when  these  extremists  found  themselves  in  the 
presence  of  an  irresponsible  mob,  eagerly  responsive  to  the 
hottest  kind  of  anti-war  sentiment,  they  readily  yielded 
to  its  spell  and  indulged  freely  in  abuse  of  everything  that 
stood  for  the  struggle  for  the  Union,  though  the  hne  was 
generally  drawn  at  open  support  of  the  Rebellion. 

SOME  OF  THE   NOTED   SPEAKERS 

One  of  the  most  outspoken  was  an  interesting  specimen 
from  Iowa,  known  as  the  Rev.  Henry  Clay  Dean,  but 
better  known  as  "Dirty  Shirt"  Dean,  because  of  his  con- 
stitutional aversion  to  clean  linen.  (All  his  aversions,  by 
the  way,  were  based  on  the  Constitution.)  Iowa's  "Copper- 
head" par  excellence  was,  however,  one  D.  A.  Mahony, 
editor  of  The  Dubuque  Herald.  I  happened  in  the  office 
of  that  paper  on  the  day  the  Rebel  ram  Merrimac  sank 
the  wooden  frigates  in  Hampton  Roads,  and  can  never 


A  "COPPERHEAD"  CONVENTION  81 

forget  the  exultant  glee  with  which  he  burst  into  the  pres- 
ence of  the  staff  to  announce  the  news.  Another  for  whom 
the  crowd  went  wild  was  "Brick"  Pomeroy,  of  The  La 
Crosse  Democrat,  a  paper  that  achieved  an  extraordinary 
circulation  because  of  its  outspoken  Southern  sympathies. 
Other  favorites  besides  those  mentioned  were  "Fog  Horn" 
Bill  Allen,  of  Ohio;  Senators  Bright  and  Fitch,  and  Gov- 
ernor Hendricks,  of  Indiana;  Senator  Richardson  and 
General  Singleton,  of  Illinois;  and  could  Wilbur  F. 
Storey  have  been  persuaded  to  overcome  his  habitual  re- 
serve and  exhibit  himself,  he  no  doubt  would  have  cast  all 
the  rest  in  the  shade. 

"long  John's"  teiumph  ovee  vallandigham 

It  must  be  said  to  the  credit  of  "Long  John"  that  he 
stood  almost  alone  in  fearless  and  pronounced  opposition 
to  this  "Copperhead"  exploitation.  He  knew  he  could 
"jolly"  any  crowd  they  might  bring  against  him;  therefore 
he  boldly  challenged  C.  L.  Vallandigham,  the  most  fearless 
and  the  brainiest  among  the  firebrands,  to  a  public  discus- 
sion of  the  issues.  The  tourney  duly  came  off  in  the  Court 
House  Square,  the  speakers  addressing  an  enormous 
crowd  from  the  north  steps.  Under  the  circumstances 
the  debate  was  a  decisive  triumph  for  the  home  giant. 
Vallandigham  confined  himself  almost  entirely  to  dry  con- 
stitutional quibbles,  that  soon  palled  on  the  crowd,  which 
at  best  could  catch  only  a  word  here  and  there;  while 
"Long  John"  megaphoned  his  Union  and  War  pseans 
to  the  farthest  limit  of  the  vast  assembly;  and  to  such  good 
effect,  that  every  reserve  of  Union  sentiment  in  his  pres- 
ence was  roused  to  enthusiastic  approbation.  This  ap- 
parent turning  down  of  their  foremost  champion  caused 
deep  chagrin  among  the  large  body  of  delegates  who  over- 


82  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

looked  the  vast  assemblage  from  the  vantage  of  the  south- 
ern balcony  of  the  Sherman  House,  and  there  was  free 
expression  among  them  that  Vallandigham  committed  a 
tactical  blunder  in  consenting  to  appear  under  conditions 
for  him  so  obviously  disadvantageous. 

DESCRIPTION    IN    THE    "tIMEs"    OF    OUT-DOOR    MEETINGS 

On  the  morning  following  one  of  the  evening  gather- 
ings during  the  Convention  week  —  a  "Copperhead  orgy" 
the  Republican  papers  called  it  —  the  Times  described  the 
outbreak  as  follows : 

"The  demonstration  last  night  was  not  a  meeting  merely;  it  was  a 
whole  constellation  of  meetings.  The  grand  centre  of  the  city  — 
Randolph,  Clark,  Washington,  and  La  Salle  Streets,  about  the  Court 
House,  as  well  as  the  Court  House  Square  —  presented  one  solid  mass 
of  human  beings;  and  these  were  independent  of  crowds  that  had 
gathered  in  Bryan  Hall  and  other  halls.  During  the  entire  evening 
there  were  at  all  times  five  speakers  holding  forth  to  these  tens  of 
thousands  of  assembled  citizens." 

SAMPLE  OF  THE  SPEECHES 

Of  the  utterances  of  the  speakers  who  harangued  the 
great  mass  from  different  improvised  rostrums  —  the  prin- 
cipal ones  being  the  east  and  south  balconies  of  the  Sher- 
man House  —  the  following  extracts  from  the  Times  re- 
ports are  fair  samples : 

Hon.  John  J.  Van  Allen  —  "  We  do  not  want  a  candidate  with  the 
smell  of  war  on  his  garments.  The  great  Democratic  party  should 
have  resisted  the  war  from  the  beginning." 

Hon.  S.  S.  Cox,  of  Ohio  (later  of  New  York)  —  "  Abraham  Lin- 
coln has  deluged  the  country  with  blood,  created  a  debt  of  four  thou- 
sand million  dollars,  and  sacrified  two  millions  of  human  lives.  At 
the  November  election  we  will  damn  him  with  eternal  infamy.  Even 
Jefferson  Davis  is  no  greater  enemy  of  the  Constitution." 


A  "COPPERHEAD"  CONVENTION  83 

Ketchiim,  of  New  York  —  "We  want  to  elect  a  man  who  will  say 
to  the  South,  'Come  back;  we  will  restore  to  you  every  constitutional 
privilege,  every  guarantee  that  you  ever  possessed;  your  rights  shall 
no  longer  be  invaded ;  we  will  wipe  out  the  Emancipation  Proclamation ; 
we  will  sweep  away  confiscation;  all  that  we  ask  is  that  you  will  come 
back  and  live  with  us  on  the  old  terms.'" 

Hon.  W.  W.  O'Brien,  of  Peoria  —  "We  want  to  try  Lincoln  as 
Charles  I.  of  England  was  tried,  and  if  found  guilty  will  carry  out 
the  law." 

Hon.  John  Fuller,  of  Michigan  —  "  Are  you  willing  to  follow  in 
the  footsteps  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  the  perjured  wretch  who  has  vio- 
lated the  oath  he  took  before  high  heaven  to  support  the  Constitution 
and  preserve  the  liberties  of  the  people.''" 

Stambaugh,  of  Ohio  —  "If  I  am  called  upon  to  elect  between  the 
freedom  of  the  nigger  and  disunion  and  separation,  I  shall  choose  the 
latter.  You  might  search  hell  over  and  find  none  worse  than  Abraham 
Lincoln." 

Hon.  H.  S.  Orton,  of  Wisconsin  — "  In  Wisconsin  Lincoln  has 
no  party,  except  his  officers  and  satraps  —  that  is  all  there  is  left.  T 
pledge  you  my  word,  that  that  is  all  that  is  left  in  the  State  of  Wis- 
consin.* The  collectors  of  the  revenue,  the  assessors  and  their  de- 
pendents, are  all  the  strength  that  Abe  Lincoln  has  in  these  free 
States.  Are  they  to  rule  over  us?  Are  you  going  to  submit  to  it? 
[Cries  of  "No."  "No."]  God  bless  the  draft.  It  proves  that  we  have 
touched  bottom,  and  got  to  the  last  ditch,  the  last  man  and  the  last 
dollar.  The  stars  of  heaven  are  blotted  out,  the  moon  will  refuse  to 
shine,  the  sun  will  rise  no  more  in  the  fair  firmament  of  the  American 
Republic." 

G.  C.  Sanderson  —  "  It  19  time  this  infernal  war  should  stop.  Have 
we  not  all  been  bound  hand  and  foot  to  the  abolition  car  that  is  rolling 
over  our  necks  like  the  wheels  of  another  Juggernaut?  If  the  Southern 
Confederacy,  by  any  possibility  be  subjugated  by  this  abolition  admin- 
istration, the  next  thing  they  will  turn  their  bayonets  on  the  free  men 
of  the  North,  and  trample  you  in  the  dust." 

*  Little  more  than  two  months  later,  out  of  a  total  vote  of  149,343,  Lincoln 
had  a  majority  over  McClellan  of  17,574. 


84  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

C.  Chauncey  Burr,  of  New  York,  editor  of  The  Old  Guard  — 
"Argument  is  useless.  We  have  patiently  waited  for  a  change,  but  for 
four  years  have  lived  under  a  despotism,  and  the  wonder  is  that  men 
carry  out  the  orders  of  the  gorilla  tyrant  who  has  usurped  the  presi- 
dential chair.  The  South  cannot  lay  down  its  arms,  for  they  are  fight- 
ing for  their  honor.  Two  million  of  men  have  been  sent  down  to  the 
slaughter  pens  of  the  South,  and  the  army  of  Lincoln  cannot  again  be 
filled." 

Hon.  and  Rev.  Henry  Clay  Dean,  of  Iowa  —  "  The  American  peo- 
ple are  ruled  by  felons.  With  all  his  vast  armies  Lincoln  has  failed ! 
failed!  failed!  FAILED!  And  still  the  monster  usurper  wants  more 
victims  for  his  slaughter  pens.  I  blush  that  such  a  felon  should  oc- 
cupy the  highest  gift  of  the  people.  Perjury  and  larceny  are  written 
all  over  him.  Ever  since  the  usurper,  traitor,  and  tyrant  has  occupied 
the  presidential  chair  the  Republican  party  has  shouted  war  to  the 
knife,  and  the  knife  to  the  hilt.  Blood  has  flowed  in  torrents,  and  yet 
the  thirst  of  the  old  monster  is  not  quenched.  His  cry  is  ever  for 
more  blood." 

THE  REASON  FOR  MCCLELLAN- WORSHIP  NOT  APPARENT 

The  McClellan-worship  of  the  Democratic  party  was  a 
curious  exhibition  of  contradictions  and  stultifications. 
Why  was  he  pitched  upon  as  leader?  Was  it  because  he 
was  a  Democrat?  So  were  Generals  Grant,  Sherman, 
Sheridan,  Thomas,  Logan,  McClernand,  Corse,  Bragg, 
Slocum,  Hancock,  Sickles,  originally;  and  many  of  them 
remained  Democratic  partisans  to  the  last.  Indeed,  the 
names  of  Generals  Grant,  Sherman,  Sheridan,  Thomas, 
and  Hancock  were  all  prominently  mentioned  as  possible 
Democratic  nominees  in  1868;  and  up  to  a  few  months  be- 
fore the  time  to  make  nominations,  it  seemed  in  doubt  which 
ticket  Grant  would  head.  Hancock's  turn  came  twelve 
years  later.  Furthermore,  all  those  mentioned  were  suc- 
cessful leaders,  while  McClellan  had  little  else  than  defeats 
to  his  account.    But,  perhaps  it  was  this  that  distinguished 


A  "COPPERHEAD"  CONVENTION         85 

him  in  Democratic  eyes.  Ostensibly  the  party  espoused 
his  cause  on  the  alleged  ground  that  the  administration  had 
not  supported  him  in  the  field  because  he  was  a  Democrat. 
Did  the  Democratic  party,  then,  want  him  to  succeed  —  to 
whip  the  South  ?  However,  be  this  or  that  as  it  may,  what 
happened  was  that  McClellan  was  raised  into  a  Demo- 
cratic idol,  and  songs  with  a  "Little  Mac"  refrain  not  only 
became  the  staple  of  the  variety  shows  and  free  concert 
saloons,  but  during  the  last  years  of  the  war  held  the  same 
place  at  Democratic  meetings  that  the  "Star  Spangled 
Baimer"  or  "The  Battle  Cry  of  Freedom"  did  at  Re- 
publican rallies. 

So  far  as  the  leaders  are  concerned,  they  probably 
argued  like  this:  "One  of  our  own  sort  would  stand  no 
chance  with  the  masses.  We  must  have  a  soldier;  but  a 
successful  one  would  not  serve  our  purpose,  nor  is  there 
any  likelihood  that  we  could  get  him  to  stand  on  the  kind 
of  platform  we  are  determined  to  adopt."  So  it  was 
McClellan  or  a  civilian. 

HAERIS'S   INDICTMENT  OF  MCCLELLAN 

"Little  Mac's"  selection  did  not,  however,  go  wholly 
unchallenged.  It  was  fought  in  the  Convention  by  the 
extreme  wing  tooth  and  nail.  Its  utter  absurdity  was  un- 
flinchingly shown  up  by  Congressman  Harris,  of  Mary- 
land. "Do  you  want  McClellan  because  he  is  a  great 
soldier?"  he  shouted.  "Why,  he  has  never  won  a  battle. 
[Great  uproar.]  Does  he  stand  for  liberty?  Why,  the 
military  oppression  under  which  Maryland  suffers  was  in- 
stituted by  him.  It  was  he  that  struck  the  first  blow. 
.  .  .  The  sons  of  ]\Iaryland  were  imprisoned  by  that 
devil  McClellan;  and  all  the  charges  I  can  make  against 
Lincoln   and   his    administration,    I   can   make   against 


86  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

McClellan."  Harris  was  frequently  interrupted;  he 
knocked  down  a  delegate  who  sought  to  stop  him;  and  it 
was  not  until  he  had  declared  that  he  was  armed  and  pre- 
pared to  defend  the  right  of  free  speech  to  the  death,  that 
he  was  permitted  to  finish  his  indictment  of  the  Democratic 
hero,  namely:  that  he  had  ordered  General  Banks,  if  neces- 
sary, to  suspend  the  habeas  corpus;  that  he  had  declared  the 
President  had  the  right  to  abolish  slavery  as  a  war  meas- 
ure; that  he  had  taken  steps  to  arrest  the  Legislature  of 
Maryland;  that  he  was  a  mere  tool  of  Abraham  Lincoln, 
who  "combined  with  military  incapacity  the  fact  that  he 
interfered  with  and  destroyed  the  civil  rights  of  the 
people." 

But  McClellan  was  nominated,  and  the  platform  not 
only  declared  the  war  a  failure,  but  demanded  that  "im- 
mediate efforts  be  made  for  a  cessation  of  hostilities."  But 
this  part  the  candidate  disavowed  in  his  letter  of  acceptance. 

APPEARANCE   OF   THE   KENTUCKY   DELEGATION 

A  scene  in  Hopkinson  Smith's  capitally  dramatized 
novel  of  "Colonel  Carter  of  Cartersville"  presents  a  group 
of  "Colonels"  and  "Judges"  from  the  South,  just  come 
to  town  to  assist  in  the  settlement,  according  to  the  "code," 
of  an  affair  of  honor.  That  group  strikingly  recalls  the 
appearance  of  the  Kentucky  delegation  on  their  arrival  at 
the  Tremont  House.  Each  carried  an  old-fashioned  carpet 
bag ;  and  when  they  had  doffed  their  dusters,  there  was  pre- 
sented the  oddest  assortment  of  notables  ever  seen  off  the 
burlesque  stage.  I  gazed  at  them  in  amazement,  and  shall 
never  forget  the  gravity  with  which  Sam  Turner  stroked 
his  foot-long  beard,  the  suavity  with  which  he  invited 
them  to  register,  nor  the  wink  and  squint  he  cast  my  way, 
saying  plainly,  "Did  you  ever?"     Some  rose  gaunt  and 


I 


A  "COPPERHEAD"  CONVENTION  87 

swarthy  to  six  feet  and  over;  others  had  successfully  de- 
voted much  spare  time  to  an  accumulation  of  breadth  of 
beam;  while  every  thinkable  shape  and  size  between  these 
extremes,  or  outside  of  them,  was  characteristically  repre- 
sented. 

"General  C  — ,  I  am  going  to  give  you  Room  X," quoth 
the  genial  Sam.  This  general's  name  was  one  of  the  best 
known  in  the  Border  State.  All  during  the  war  its  bearer 
had  been  conspicuously  on  the  fence,  and  on  which  side  he 
would  eventually  land  had  been  debated  the  country  over 
for  so  long  that  the  question  became  tedious.  Indeed,  so 
big  with  possibilities  for  either  side  did  he  loom  in  the 
chronicles  of  the  early  war  days,  that  one  instinctively 
looked  among  the  giants  for  a  reply  to  Sam's  announce- 
ment; and,  faihng  there,  turned  naturally  to  the  broad- 
beamed  heavy-weights,  only  to  scan  their  Bourbon  adver- 
tisements to  equal  failure.  Then,  to  my  inexpressible 
surprise,  it  was  a  manikin  in  a  trailing  duster  who  ex- 
claimed in  a  piping  treble,  "All  right,  Mr.  Clerk."  Siz- 
ing up  all  there  was  of  him,  including  the  duster,  I  could 
not  help  wondering  why  it  should  ever  have  occurred  to 
any  one  that  it  could  possibly  matter  on  which  side  of 
the  fence  "General  C  —  "  of  Kentucky  climbed  down. 

WHY  THE  CONVENTION  ALARMED  THE  REPUBLICANS 

To  show  with  some  detail  why  the  gathering  of  the 
Copperhead  hosts  in  national  convention  was  a  source  of 
profound  apprehension  to  all  who  favored  the  prosecution 
of  the  war,  it  may  be  said:  that  the  shiver  which  Grant's 
repulse  at  Cold  Harbor,  with  its  frightful  sacrifice  of  life, 
had  sent  over  the  North,  was  still  felt  in  the  people's  inmost 
marrow;  that  the  General's  operations  before  Petersburg 
had  so  far  proved  a  distinct  failure ;  that  only  a  few  weeks 


88  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

before,  Lee  had  felt  sufficiently  strong  to  detach  a  force  of 
20,000  men  to  pass  around  the  Federal  lines  and  make  its 
way  into  the  suburbs  of  Washington,  seriously  threatening 
the  national  Capital,  which  a  bold  attack  might  well 
have  taken,  so  denuded  was  it  of  troops  to  strengthen  the 
assaulting  lines  of  Grant,  hundreds  of  miles  away;  that 
Sherman's  campaign  against  Atlanta  still  hung  in  the  bal- 
ance; that  a  draft  was  proceeding  in  many  States  in  spite 
of  the  offer  of  generous  bounties  to  volunteers ;  that  there 
was  trouble  in  Lincoln's  cabinet,  resulting  in  the  resigna- 
tion of  Chase ;  and,  finally,  that  the  value  of  the  greenback, 
the  country's  barometric  currency,  was  reduced  to  a  specie 
value  of  about  forty  cents. 

HOW   THEIR   FEAES   MAGNIFIED   TRIFLES 

Under  the  tension  of  a  situation  so  full  of  disquietude, 
it  is  perhaps  not  surprising  that  every  obstructing  mole- 
hill was  magnified  into  a  mountain,  and  that  every  trifling 
circumstance  with  a  possibly  treasonable  implication  should 
be  endowed  with  portentous  significance.  I  well  remember 
the  ado  there  was  in  the  Republican  press  all  over  the 
country,  because  the  Richmond  House  was  the  first  among 
the  large  hotels  during  convention  week  to  announce  "Cot 
accommodations  only."  This  was  construed  into  proof 
positive  that  it  was  the  name  so  intimately  associated  with 
the  Rebel  cause  that  preferably  turned  Copperhead  steps 
to  it.  To  be  sure  there  was  the  fact  that  the  rates  were 
somewhat  lower  than  at  the  hotels  more  centrally  located, 
and  the  further  circumstance  that  it  was  nearer  the  prin- 
cipal railway  station;  but  to  take  such  uninteresting  details 
into  account  did  not  at  this  time  suit  the  Republican  book. 
If,  however,  any  admirer  of  Jefferson  Davis  did  select  the 
Richmond  because  of  its  suggestive  name,  he  probably  fled 


A  "COPPERHEAD"  CONVENTION  89 

its  hospitable  precincts,  if  by  any  chance  made  aware  that 
the  hostelry  took  its  name  from  the  man  whose  fortune  it 
absorbed,  from  Thomas  Richmond,  one  of  Chicago's  most 
enterprising  and  honored  citizens,  who  was  an  ingrained 
Abolitionist,  an  intimate  friend  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  and 
in  his  own  person  claimed  a  large  share  of  the  credit  (as  set 
forth  in  a  monograph)  for  the  issuance  of  the  Emancipa- 
tion Proclamation. 


\ 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  PULPIT  AS  A  WAR  FORCE 

Self-sacrificing  Services  op  Leading  Clergymen  —  Rev.  Robert 
Collyer's  Efforts  in  Behalf  of  the  Men  in  the  Field  —  Dr. 
Robert  H.  Clarkson's  Forceful,  Loyal  Leadership  —  Memo- 
rial OF  St.  James's  Church  to  its  Fallen  Heroes  —  Dr.  W.  W. 
Patton  as  a  Promoter  of  Emancipation  —  Dr.  W.  W.  Everts 
A  Stalwart  Baptist  —  Dr.  R.  W.  Patterson,  Presbyterian  — 
Dr.  W.  H.  Ryder,  Universalist  —  Drs.  T.  M.  Eddy  and  O.  H. 
Tiffany,  Methodists  —  Vicar-General  Dunne  a  Conspicuous 
War  Priest  —  Abolitionism  Forces  Orthodox  Tolerance  for 
German  Freethinking  —  The  Sunday  Theatre  —  A  Million- 
aire Romance  that  Harkens  back  to  the  Stage. 

NO  class  of  Chicago's  citizens  deserves  more  credit  for 
zeal  and  self-denial  during  the  great  crisis  than  its 
clergy.  As  in  the  forum,  so  in  the  pulpit,  there  were 
strong  personalities  in  those  days.  Only  one  remains  at 
this  writing  by  which  to  gauge  his  war-time  contempo- 
raries. That  one  is  grand  old  Robert  CoUyer,  who  to-day, 
at  eighty-seven,  probably  has  more  calls  on  his  time  to 
meet  outside  engagements  than  any  other  minister  in  the 
coimtry,  and  still  fills  both  pulpit  and  pew  as  few  others 
in  these  days.  Like  Joseph  Jefferson,  who  was  the  last 
link  that  bound  the  present  generation  to  the  great  stage 
stars  of  the  past,  Robert  CoUyer  grows  riper  and  mellower 
with  each  added  year;  and  a  half -century  hence  the  old 
folks  of  that  time  will  boast  to  their  grandchildren  of  the 
good  fortune  that  enabled  them  to  see  the  one  as  Rip  Van 
Winkle,  and  hear  the  other  tell  of  the  time  when  he  worked 
at  the  anvil,  making  good,  honest  horseshoes  during  the 
day,  and  preaching  stanch  Methodist  sermons  at  night. 

90 


THE  PULPIT  AS  A  WAR  FORCE  91 

But  in  the  ratio  that  he  came  less  in  contact  with  the  fire 
of  the  forge,  and  so  had  more  time  to  meditate  upon  the 
divine  love,  he  came  also  to  stand  less  in  fear  of  the  un- 
quenchable fires  of  the  nether- world ;  and  finally,  when  the 
**caU"  came  to  give  up  the  one  for  good  and  all,  he  let 
the  other  die  out  also. 

OTHER   NOTED  MINISTERS 

The  great  names  of  Beecher,  Parker,  Chapin,  Storrs, 
Bellows,  and  their  congeners  in  the  East,  were  most  cred- 
itably supplemented  in  Chicago,  besides  Robert  Collyer, 
by  such  men  as  Robert  H.  Clarkson  (Episcopal),  W.  W. 
Patton  (Congregational),  Robert  W.  Patterson  (Presby- 
terian), W.  W.  Everts  (Baptist),  T.  M.  Eddy  and  O.  H. 
Tiffany  (Methodist),  W.  H.  Ryder  (UniversaHst),  and 
Dennis  Dunne  (Catholic). 

DR.   R.    H.    CLARKSON's   ENTHUSIASM 

Deserving  of  a  grateful  remembrance  as  are  all  these, 
I  feel  like  giving  first  place  to  Dr.  Robert  H.  Clarkson,  of 
St.  James's  Episcopal  and  later  the  revered  Missionaiy 
Bishop  of  Nebraska  and  Dakota,  because  he  had  clearly 
the  most  to  overcome,  with  the  possible  exception  of  Father 
Dunne.  As  to  the  attitude  of  the  denominations  repre- 
sented by  the  others,  there  was  never  any  question ;  but  in 
the  Episcopal  fold,  there  was  here  and  there,  because  of  its 
intimate  affiliations  with  the  aristocracy  of  the  South,  an 
appreciable  lukewarmness,  and  aversion  to  "bringing  poli- 
tics into  the  pulpit."  One  might  have  hesitated  to  define 
the  position  of  his  bishop ;  but  there  was  never  any  question 
where  Robert  H.  Clarkson  stood.  His  voice  from  the  first 
was  a  trumpet  call,  and  he  fairly  swept  his  church  with  him, 
notwithstanding  some  rather  important  hold-backs.  There 
were  in  his  congregation,  which  was  by  far  the  most 


92  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

select  in  the  city,  such  stanch  supporters  of  the  war 
as  Judge  Mark  Skinner,  E.  B.  McCagg,  and  E.  H. 
Sheldon;  and  with  these  at  his  back,  he  missed  no  op- 
portunity to  fill  the  young  men  of  his  parish  with  his 
own  noble  enthusiasm.  Once,  in  his  zeal,  he  made 
the  promise  from  the  pulpit  that  the  church  would 
rear  a  memorial  to  those  of  the  congregation  who  fell  in 
defence  of  their  country;  and  this  promise  was  in  after 
years  fulfilled,  though  he  himself,  on  the  close  of  the  war, 
had  been  called  to  another  and  wider  field  of  usefulness. 

A   MONUMENT  TO   SOLDIERS   OF   HIS    CONGREGATION 

When  the  time  came,  some  years  before  the  fire,  to  give 
effect  to  Dr.  Clarkson's  promise,  the  commission  for  an 
appropriate  memorial  was  given  to  a  prominent  New 
York  firm  of  architects,  and  from  their  design  it  was  built 
at  a  cost  of  fifty-five  hundred  dollars.  And  it  would  seem 
as  if  even  the  ruthless  fire  fiend  had  respect  for  the  honored 
dead,  for  the  only  part  of  St.  James's  Church  that  escaped 
destruction  was  the  wall  of  the  tower  against  which  the 
Soldiers'  Memorial  was  built.  It  was  blackened,  but  was 
otherwise  undamaged.  It  is  still  in  good  condition,  is  a 
part  of  the  new  church,  and  on  Memorial  Day,  All  Saints' 
Day,  and  Easter  Day,  it  is  decorated  with  flags  and  flow- 
ers. The  Memorial  is  a  beautiful  piece  of  work;  and  the 
names  it  perpetuates  show  the  class  of  young  men  St. 
James's  Church  sent  into  the  field  under  the  stimulus  of 
its  patriotic  rector,  and  who  freely  gave  their  lives  that 
their  country  might  live.  They  are:  Lucius  Sherman 
Larabee,  Edward  Hanson  Russell,  William  De  Wolf, 
John  Harris  Kinzie,  Thomas  Orchard,  Frank  M.  Skin- 
ner, Peter  Preston  Wood,  Louis  DeKoven  Hubbard,  and 
Charles  H.  Hosmer. 


THE  SOLDIERS'  MEMORIAL  IN  ST.   JAMES'S  EPISCOPAL 

CHURCH 

(I'^ninjured  by  the  Fire  and  Forming  Part  of  the  Reconstructed 
Edifice,  at  Cass  and  Huron  Streets) 


THE  PULPIT  AS  A  WAR  FORCE  93 

DR.    PATTON's    work   AS   AN    ABOLITIONIST 

Another  whose  work  stands  out  conspicuously  is  the 
Rev.  W.  W.  Patton,  D.  D.,  of  the  First  Congregational 
Church.  Dr.  Patton  was  an  uncompromising  Abolitionist, 
and  he  had  at  his  back  a  congregation  after  his  own  heart. 
Of  the  origin  of  this  "nigger  church"  I  have  spoken  at 
some  length  in  connection  with  that  abolition  war-horse, 
Deacon  Philo  Carpenter.  This  church  believed  thoroughly 
in  the  efficacy  of  prayer  in  bringing  about  moral  results. 
For  many  years,  the  Fourth  of  July  was  dedicated  to 
prayers  for  the  freedom  of  the  slave.  For  a  month  prior 
to  the  inauguration  of  President  Lincoln  it  held  daily 
prayer  meetings ;  and  later  the  church  sent  resolution  after 
resolution  to  the  President,  to  sustain  him  in  his  work  and 
to  turn  his  thoughts  to  emancipation.  Finally,  Dr.  Patton 
was  instrumental  in  calling  a  public  meeting,  at  a  critical 
time,  to  urge  the  President  to  free  the  slaves;  and  he  was 
chairman  of  the  committee  that  bore  the  adopted  resolu- 
tions to  Washington.  That  Dr.  Patton  and  his  supporters 
made  a  strong  appeal  to  the  President  may  go  without 
saying;  and  it  is  a  noteworthy  coincidence  that  the  same 
issue  of  the  Chicago  papers  which  published  the  com- 
mittee's report  on  their  mission  also  contained  the  Emanci- 
pation Proclamation.  So  effectively  did  this  valiant 
soldier  of  the  cross  labor  among  his  own  people  for  the 
cause  so  near  his  heart,  that  out  of  a  membership  of  755 
of  both  sexes,  69  of  its  youths  joined  the  army.  In 
the  lists  of  speakers  at  war  meetings  the  name  of  Dr. 
Patton  was  seldom  absent,  for  the  words  of  few  carried 
more  conviction  to  the  hearts  of  his  hearers ;  wliile  his  posi- 
tion as  Vice-President  of  the  Northwestern  Sanitary  Com- 
mission afforded  rare  opportunities  for  the  display  of  his 
exceptional  executive  powers. 


94  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

DR.     EVERTS'S    RECORD HE    SAVES     CHICAGO     UNIVERSITY 

The  Rev.  W.  W.  Everts,  D.  D.,  of  the  First  Baptist 
Church,  was  another  who  could  always  be  depended  on  to 
strike  straight  from  the  shoulder.  He  left  Louisville,  Ky., 
in  1859,  because  of  his  anti-slavery  views.  Although  his 
congregation  was  loyal  to  him,  he  felt  he  must  have  a  freer 
field  than  a  Southern  pulpit  afforded;  and  though  he  was 
absent  when  the  secession  crisis  came  to  a  head,  it  is  said 
that  the  influence  of  the  people  of  his  old  congregation  was 
most  effective  in  holding  Kentucky  to  the  side  of  the 
Union.  Dr.  Everts  was  probably  the  most  forceful 
preacher  in  the  history  of  the  city's  pulpit.  He  was  ortho- 
dox to  the  core,  a  man  of  profound  convictions  and  of 
undaunted  courage.  When  he  came  to  the  First  Church, 
it  was  heavily  in  debt,  as  were  most  Chicago  churches  at 
that  time.  He  said  to  his  people  that  the  debt  must  be 
paid,  and  the  task  was  accomplished  at  a  single  meeting. 
This  unprecedented  success  put  heart  into  other  ministers. 
Dr.  Ryder  made  public  acknowledgment  that  the  pre- 
cedent saved  St.  Paul's  Universalist  Church.  Scores  of 
congregations  all  over  the  West  made  a  like  acknowledg- 
ment, and  Dr.  Everts  was  frequently  called  upon  to  help 
save  sinking  ships.  Then  there  was  the  Baptist  (now 
the  Chicago)  University.  When  Dr.  Everts  came  to  the 
city,  the  denomination  was  about  to  give  up  the  enterprise 
as  too  heavy  a  load  to  carry.  The  doctor  said  it  must  not 
be  done;  and  it  was  largely  through  his  efforts  that  the 
University  was  put  on  an  active  and  enlarged  basis.  But 
such  was  his  orthodoxy,  that,  had  it  been  revealed  to  him 
what  sort  of  "heresies"  were  to  proceed  from  his  nursling, 
through  the  grace  of  Rockefeller  endowments,  he  would 
surely  have  stayed  his  hand  and  let  the  University  perisji. 

The  chapter  on  "Early  Chicago  Literature"  in  this 


REV.  WILLIAM    W.  EVERTS 


REV.   W.   H.   RYDER 


THE  PUI.PIT  AS  A  WAR  FORCE  95 

volume,  is  illuminated  by  scintillations  from  the  iridescent 
pen  of  "January  Searle."  In  the  early  sixties  this  re- 
markable aviator  into  the  realms  of  hyperbole,  in  a  book 
entitled  "Chicago  Churches,"  delivered  himself  as  follows: 
"From  1859  the  march  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  has 
been  a  regal  progress  through  triumphant  arches,  and  over 
roads  strewn  with  flowers  and  the  glorification  of  redeemed 
souls  and  the  acclamation  of  angels."  If  the  foregoing 
could  be  reduced  to  its  earthly  equivalents,  it  would  un- 
doubtedly tell  the  exact  truth  about  Dr.  Everts's  remark- 
able work  in  his  chosen  field.  Of  his  labors  in  the  Union 
cause  I  have  already  spoken  in  general  terms.  At  one  time 
the  situation  brought  about  by  Northern  defeats  made  it 
imperative  that  every  veteran  serve  at  the  front.  Volun- 
teers for  an  emergency  corps  were  called  for,  to  enable  the 
Camp  Douglas  garrison  to  take  the  field.  None  were 
more  active  than  Dr.  Everts  in  filling  the  ranks;  his  own 
congregation  furnished  a  large  contingent;  and  when  the 
command  took  possession  of  the  camp,  he  served  as  its 
chaplain. 

DBS.    EDDY,   TIFFANY,   RYDER,    AND   PATTERSON 

For  the  Methodists,  Drs.  T.  M.  Eddy  and  O.  H.  Tif- 
fany stood  out  conspicuously.  Dr.  Eddy  was  a  trenchant, 
forceful  speaker,  while  Dr.  Tiffany  joined  to  a  high  intel- 
lectuality a  gift  of  oratory  now  seldom  equalled  in  the  pul- 
pit. He  was  untiring  in  his  zeal  for  the  cause  of  the  Union, 
and  gladly  accepted  places  on  commissions  to  visit  the  men 
in  the  field  with  a  view  to  improving  their  physical  wel- 
fare—  though,  in  such  circumstances,  he  never  failed  to 
sustain  their  patriotism  with  his  fervid  eloquence. 

Rev.  W.  H.  Ryder,  D.  D.,of  St.  Paul's  Universalist 
Church,  was  a  frequent  speaker  at  Union  meetings.    Next 


96  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

to  Chapin  he  was  regarded  as  the  most  gifted  minister  in 
his  denomination  in  the  country;  and  in  championing  his 
"all-saving"  views,  he  was  not  only  qualified  to  repulse 
the  attacks  of  his  ahle  opponents  —  for  those  were  days 
when  liberalism  in  religion  threatened  souls  with  damna- 
tion, and  had  to  be  fought  to  the  death  —  but  frequently 
carried  the  war  into  the  enemy's  ranks  with  distinguished 
success.  He  was  a  stanch  supporter  of  all  that  the  war 
stood  for,  even  among  the  most  advanced;  else  he  might 
well  have  heard  from  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Livermore,  of  his 
congregation. 

Dr.  Robert  W.  Patterson  of  the  Second  Presbyterian 
Church  started  out  in  life  a  Garrison  Abolitionist,  but  that 
leader's  radicalism  in  religion  brought  about  something 
like  a  reaction  in  the  pupil.  Dr.  Patterson  was,  however, 
never  other  than  a  loyal  supporter  of  the  Union,  and  his 
exceptional  height,  and  impressive  manner,  made  him 
everywhere  a  conspicuous  figure.  He  was  sometimes  al- 
luded to  as  "Deacon  Bross's  preacher,"  and  that  should 
be  a  sufficient  guarantee  of  his  place  among  the  champions 
of  the  war. 

DE.    COLLYER  S   EFFORTS   IN   BEHALF   OF   THE   SOLDIERS 

I  have  already  referred  to  the  Rev.  Robert  CoUyer  in 
connection  with  this  group  of  masterful  men.  Quite  a  few 
interesting  legends  have  grown  up  around  this  brainy  and 
muscular  Christian.  It  is  doubtful  if,  when  Sumter  fell, 
he  covered  his  pulpit  with  the  flag  and  announced  there 
would  be  no  more  preaching,  as  all  must  go  to  the  war ;  but 
it  is  a  fact  that  Unity  Church  in  those  days  showed  many 
flags  that  might  have  been  so  used ;  that  he  preached  from 
the  text,  "He  that  has  no  sword,  let  him  sell  his  garment 
and  buy  one";  and  it  is  also  true  that  during  the  first  year 


REV.   ROBERT    COLLYER 


THE  PULPIT  AS  A  WAR  FORCE  97 

of  the  struggle  this  hot-hearted  patriot  was  seldom  in  his 
pulpit,  but,  as  the  representative  of  the  Sanitary  Commis- 
sion, visited  many  camps  on  the  Potomac,  at  Donelson 
and  Pittsburg  Landing,  in  Missouri;  and  while  he  every- 
where heartened  the  men  to  their  tasks,  his  reports  on  the 
condition  of  the  sufferers  in  the  field  moved  the  people  at 
home  to  ever  greater  efforts  of  relief.  His  Yorkshire  burr 
was  a  bit  broader  in  those  days  than  now,  but  that  only 
added  a  deeper  note  to  his  heart-stirring  eloquence.  He 
was  a  Garrisonian  Abolitionist,  brought  to  that  view  in  his 
earlier  Methodist  days  through  the  inspiration  of  Lucretia 
Mott;  and  while  he  did  not  go  the  length  of  the  few  who 
made  slavery  the  sole  burden  of  their  message,  he  permitted 
none  to  doubt  his  position,  and  on  all  fitting  occasions 
spoke  the  convictions  of  his  heart.  And  it  is  to  Eli  Bates, 
a  member  of  his  Unity  congregation,  that  Chicago  and  the 
nation  are  indebted  for  St.  Gaudens'  immortal  statue  of 
Lincoln. 

FATHER  DUNNE  AND  BISHOP  DUGGAN 

As  a  class  the  Catholic  clergy  were  not  noted  for  their 
support  of  the  war,  and  for  that  reason  the  unqualified 
position  of  the  Rt.  Rev.  Dennis  Dunne,  pastor  of  St. 
Patrick's  Church  and  Vicar-General  of  the  diocese,  was  all 
the  more  conspicuous.  It  is  said  that  Bishop  Duggan  as- 
sisted Colonel  Mulligan  in  raising  his  regiment.  Be  that 
as  it  may,  certain  it  is  that  little  was  heard  from  the 
Bishop's  palace  in  the  later  years  of  the  struggle,  while  one 
was  never  at  a  loss  in  placing  his  Vicar-General.  Not  sat- 
isfied with  helping  to  fill  up  other  military  organizations. 
Father  Dunne  set  about  in  the  Summer  of  1862  —  by 
which  time  a  considerable  lukewarmness  was  already  noted 
among  his  compatriots  and  co-religionists  —  to  organize 
what  was  known  as  the  "  Irish  Legion,"  which  finally  took 


98  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

the  field  as  the  Ninetieth  Illinois,  with  Father  Kelly  for  its 
chaplain.  All  honor  to  these  sturdy  priests,  who  found 
no  difficulty  in  being  loyal  to  both  their  church  and  the 
imperilled  country  of  their  adoption. 

THE  OLD   ORTHODOXY   SELDOM   A   BRINGER   OF   COMFORT 

The  way  in  which  the  present  generation  differs  from 
its  fathers  in  respect  to  religion,  and  the  influence  this  dif- 
ference is  likely  to  have  on  the  social  order  and  individual 
conduct,  is  to-day  the  absorbing  concern  of  reflective 
minds.  The  decision,  whether  the  present  is  on  the  whole 
better  than  a  given  stage  in  the  past,  depends  largely  on 
one's  point  of  view ;  but  that  this  is  in  a  general  way  a  hap- 
pier world  for  all  sorts  of  people  admits  of  no  doubt.  To 
a  comparatively  few  exalted  souls  religion  has  always  been 
a  source  of  supreme  happiness ;  but  to  the  many  who  failed 
of  inward  experiences  to  support  an  inherited  belief  —  so 
full  of  the  direst  threatenings  for  indulgence  in  even  the 
most  innocent  diversions  —  uncompromising  orthodoxy 
brought  little  comfort  and  often  much  trouble  of  mind. 
This  is  not  the  place  to  go  into  the  psychology  of  the  re- 
ligion of  half  a  century  ago;  but  the  character  and  influ- 
ence of  the  old  faith  as  a  force  standing  over  against  the 
things  of  the  world  (as  illustrated  in  war-time  Chicago) 
may  well  call  for  some  attention. 

The  period  was  the  fruitage  of  a  seedtime  when  the 
American  pulpit  still  enlisted  the  Boanerges  of  the  intel- 
lect. Men  of  parts  believed  implicitly  in  an  inerrant  Bible ; 
and  what  httle  "higher  criticism"  worked  its  way  to  the 
Middle  West  was  wise  enough  to  remain  within  the  shelter- 
ing walls  and  shady  walks  of  the  academy.  The  great, 
serious,  native  middle  class,  therefore,  had  as  yet  no  mis- 
givings as  to  the  letter  of  the  Word ;  and  any  doubts  there 


By  Courtesy  iil  tlio  Cliioagro  Historical  Society 


RT.   REV.  DENNIS   DUNNE 


THE  PULPIT  AS  A  WAR  FORCE  99 

might  be  were  confined  to  forms  of  interpretation:  as,  for 
example,  to  the  saving  efficacy  of  different  forms  of 
baptism. 

TOLEEANCE  TOWARD  SABBATH-BREAKING  GERMANS 

The  native  American  element  derived  from  an  English- 
speaking  ancestry,  and  inheriting  the  Protestant  faith,  was 
sufficiently  dominant  to  entitle  it  to  be  spoken  of  as  the 
arbiter  of  the  social  order.  Yet  more  than  a  third  of  the 
city's  population  was  Catholic,  chiefly  Irish;  while  proba- 
bly a  fifth  part  was  rationalistic  German.  But  these  dif- 
ferent classes  hardly  affected  each  other  socially,  in  terms 
of  interacting  modes  of  thought.  So  long  as  the  beliefs  of 
the  community  did  not  infringe  on  his  Sunday  amusements, 
the  agnostic  German  did  not  in  the  least  concern  himself 
about  them;  and  what  to  a  casual  observer  might  have 
seemed  like  a  native  indifference  about  German  doings  was 
equally  marked.  Indeed,  considering  the  serious  attitude 
of  American  evangelicism  toward  Sabbath  observance,  few 
of  the  paradoxes  of  the  times  are  more  remarkable  than 
the  tolerance  of  German  violations  of  strict  Sabbatarian 
notions. 

ITS   TWO   CHIEF   CAUSES 

However,  one  need  not  go  far  to  find  a  cause.  The  un- 
compromising Sabbatarian  in  the  pulpit,  and  to  a  less 
degree  in  the  pew,  was  pretty  certain  to  be  anti-slavery 
if  not  an  out-and-out  Abolitionist ;  and  the  free-thinking, 
Sabbath-breaking  German  was  invariably  of  the  same  po- 
litical brand.  This  coincidence  brought  the  Sabbatarian 
face  to  face  with  a  serious  dilemma.  Everything  was  con- 
ceived intensely  in  those  days,  and  here  was  a  battle  royal 
to  be  fought  between  two  sets  of  convictions  that  seemingly 
admitted  of  no  compromise.  But  the  abolition  issue  was  too 


100  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

urgent  to  take  a  second  place ;  and  so  the  German  was  left 
unmolested  in  the  enjoyment  of  his  diversions,  lest  he  be 
pushed  where  he  would  not  hesitate,  on  local  issues,  to  make 
common  cause  with  pro-slavery  Catholicism.  This  was  re- 
garded as  even  less  American  than  the  Teutonic  ideas,  and 
was  generally  spoken  of  as  an  adjunct  to  Rome,  for  the 
Pope  was  at  this  time  still  a  temporal  potentate,  as  well  as 
the  spiritual  head  of  the  Roman  hierarchy. 

But  there  was  yet  another  factor  favorable  to  tolerance. 
To  an  even  greater  degree  than  to-day,  all  the  section  lying 
west  of  North  Clark  Street,  and  north  of  Chicago  Avenue, 
was  German  territory,  precisely  as  the  southwest  was 
Irish ;  and  these  delimitations  gave  to  the  city  an  aspect  of 
three  distinct  municipalities.  Nothing  could  be  more  ab- 
horrent to  the  evangelical  mind  of  half  a  century  ago  than 
a  Sunday  theatre.  It  was  bad  enough  that  public  opinion 
compelled  the  toleration  of  week-day  performances,  but  a 
Sunday  stage  exhibition  in  competition  with  the  pulpit  led 
to  visions  of  Hades.  Had  the  promoters  of  the  German 
Sunday  theatre  attempted  to  locate  their  annex  to  perdi- 
tion at  this  time  in  any  native  section  of  the  city,  there 
would,  no  doubt,  have  resulted  a  determined  effort  to  stop 
the  performance;  but  being  on  the  North  Side,  southeast 
corner  of  Wells  and  Indiana  Streets,  made  it  in  a  sense 
extra-territorial;  and  when  some  years  after  the  war  (by 
which  time  many  centuries-old  restrictive  fences  had  come 
down)  there  was  some  talk  of  giving  Sunday  performances 
in  English  at  a  South  Side  place  of  amusement,  the  Prot- 
estant pulpit  spoke  with  no  uncertain  voice,  and  the  idea 
was  significantly  scotched.  How  different  this  from  the 
Chicago  of  to-day! 


By  Courtesy  of  "The  Cliurclimair' 

REV.  ROBERT   H.  CLARKSON 


REV.  O.   H.  TIFFANY 


THE  PULPIT  AS  A  WAR  FORCE  101 

STAGE    PEOPLE    THE    GREAT-GRANDPARENTS    OF    A     MULTI- 
MILLIONAIRE 

While  we  are  upon  the  subject  of  the  German  theatre, 
a  digression  from  the  field  sociological  may  be  permitted. 
The  performances  were  generally  of  a  high  order  —  su- 
perior, in  fact,  in  point  of  histrionic  talent  to  those  at 
McVicker's,  Chicago's  only  American  theatre  till  well 
along  in  the  middle  sixties ;  and  this  excellence  was  due  in 
no  small  degree  to  the  Kenkels,  husband  and  wife.  The 
performances  being  limited  to  Sunday  evenings,  there  was 
naturally  little  to  keep  the  pot  boiling,  and  it  was  much  of 
the  time  pretty  hard  sledding  for  this  excellent  couple. 
It  might  be  going  too  far  to  say  that  in  German  theatricals 
in  those  days  the  "talent,"  like  the  country  schoolmaster, 
"boarded  round"  among  the  patrons;  or,  like  the  country 
parson,  was  paid  in  turnips  and  like  delectables;  but  cer- 
tain it  is  that  on  more  than  one  occasion  helpful  hands 
were  needed  to  keep  the  proverbial  wolf  at  a  respectful  dis- 
tance. Yet  through  the  whirling  of  time,  by  which  as  start- 
ling contrasts  are  brought  about  in  real  life  as  on  any 
mimic  stage,  it  came  to  pass  that  a  granddaughter  of  these 
struggling  Komodianten  married  the  only  son  (now  de- 
ceased) of  the  richest  man  this  city  of  multi-millionaires 
has  produced;  and  she  and  her  children  are  the  heirs  of 
what  is  believed  to  be  the  largest  fortune  ever  accumulated 
in  a  mercantile  pursuit. 

WHY  FREE-THINKERS  TOLERATED  BOTH  PURITANS  AND 

ROMANISTS 

To  the  rationalistic  German  —  as  a  rule  a  child  of  the 
Revolution  of  1848  —  the  Protestant  American,  whose  re- 


102  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

ligion  was  the  result  of  personal  experience,  was  a  complete 
enigma;  and  when  not  believed  to  suffer  from  some  form 
of  delusion,  he  was  credited  with  little  sincerity.  But  the 
Catholic  Church  he  thought  he  understood.  This  typified 
for  him  priestcraft,  with  a  background  of  the  torturing 
Inquisition,  and  any  allusion  to  it  quickly  provoked  his 
wrath.  But  his  hatred  of  everything  that  savored  of  Jesu- 
itism seldom  took  the  form  of  active  propagandism,  for  the 
reason  that  Rome  was  tolerant  of  a  liberal  Sabbath;  and 
this  attitude,  as  against  the  American  Puritanism,  en- 
forced something  like  an  armed  peace,  fairly  suggestive 
of  a  coalition.  The  German  free-thinker,  the  product  of 
a  reaction  from  the  objective  horrors  of  the  Inquisition 
rather  than  the  subjective  influence  of  a  haunting  orthodox 
theology,  concerned  himself  little  about  mere  questions  of 
Biblical  errors  or  mistaken  interpretations;  and  so  it  was 
left  for  the  American  IngersoU,  with  his  unpleasant  mem- 
ories of  a  repressed  orthodox  childhood,  to  throw  his 
gauntlet  in  the  face  of  the  defenders  of  an  inerrant  Bible ; 
and  this  attitude,  so  startling  to  the  average  American  of 
the  time,  was  to  the  rationalisic  Teuton  simply  a  source  of 
wonderment  that  the  great  infidel  should  care  to  go  to  all 
the  trouble. 

GEEMANS   OF  THAT  DAY   LARGELY   TINGED   WITH 
SOCIALISM 

And  there  was  still  another  vital  difference  between  the 
orthodox  American  and  the  radical  German,  with  whom  he 
was  so  intimately  bound  up  in  the  matter  of  abolitionism. 
If  you  scratched  deep  enough,  you  would  be  very  apt  to 
find  under  the  revolutionary  Teutonic  cuticle  some  variety 
of  socialist  or  communist.  A  conspicuous  example  of 
this  class  was  Dr.  Ernst  Schmidt,  in  every  respect  a  large 


REV.   WILLIAM    WESTON    PATTON 


THE  PULPIT  AS  A  WAR  FORCE  103 

personality,  and  an  uncompromising  type  of  the  born 
iconoclast;  and  as  proof  how  thoroughly  the  German  of 
that  time  was  inoculated  with  socialistic  ideas,  and  how 
ready  to  bring  them  to  the  fore  when  there  was  absence  of 
more  burning  questions,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  in  1879, 
when  the  Doctor  ran  for  Mayor  against  Democratic  and 
Republican  candidates  on  a  straight  Socialistic  ticket,  he 
received  no  less  than  11,829  votes  out  of  a  total  poll  of 
66,910.  It  may  be  well  to  remember  this  formidable  pro- 
portion when  the  militant  reformer  threatens  the  com- 
munity with  an  early  Socialistic  deluge.  The  last  time  the 
Chicago  Socialists  were  heard  from  in  a  municipal  elec- 
tion, they  cast  13,429  votes  out  of  a  total  poll  of  335,930; 
and  in  the  last  presidential  election  17,712  votes  out  of  a 
total  poll  of  378,535.  In  other  figures:  while  in  1879  the 
Socialists  polled  approximately  one  in  six,  their  proportion 
in  the  last  municipal  election  was  only  one  in  twenty-five, 
and  in  the  presidential  election  one  in  twenty-one. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  WORK  OF  THE  WOMEN 

Women's  Share  in  the  Civil  War  —  Individual  Women  who 
Served  —  The  "Soldiers'  Rest,"  the  "Soldiers'  Home,"  the 
Sanitary  Fairs  —  Officers  under  Matron-General  Dix  — 
Work  done  for  the  Soldiers  by  Young  Women  —  The  Sanitary 
Fair  of  1863  —  The  Sanitary  Fair  of  1865  —  "Mrs.  Parting- 
ton" Expresses  her  Feelings  —  Relics  of  Slavery  and  the  War 
Exhibited  at  the  Fair  —  Arrival  of  General  Sherman  and 
General  Grant  —  An  Enthusiastic  Reception  to  Each  — 
Mrs.  Bickerdyke's  Arraignment  of  Men  who  would  not  Help. 

THE  present  generation  of  strenuous  young  women 
often  fosters  the  belief  that  its  grandmothers  were 
mere  stay-at-homes,  who  not  only  expected  the  men 
to  do  the  fighting,  but  to  look  after  all  the  rest  of  the  try- 
ing things  that  follow  in  the  train  of  a  call  to  arms.  Yet 
the  story  of  the  war  for  the  Union,  especially  in  its  begin- 
nings, when  everything  was  in  a  state  of  chaos,  would  be 
an  infinitely  sadder  one  but  for  woman's  spontaneous 
share. 

The  struggle  beginning  in  1861  was  a  people's  war. 
There  were  no  armed  hosts  ready  to  spring  at  each  other's 
throats  at  the  word  of  command.  When  the  nations  of  the 
Old  World  set  out  to  kill  each  other,  woman  has  but  small 
share  in  the  preparation  for  the  combat.  All  is  ready  — 
or,  at  any  rate,  is  supposed  to  be  ready.  Every  man  drawn 
into  the  struggle  is  disciplined  to  hardship,  and  knows  his 
exact  place  in  the  huge  machine  set  in  motion.  And  every 
part  is  trained.  How  different  this  from  our  internecine 
struggle!  Women  alone  knew  anything  about  nursing; 
and  of  these,  as  a  rule,  only  the  mothers  of  families. 

104 


THE  WORK  OF  THE  WOMEN  105 

INDIVIDUAL   WOMEN    WHO   SERVED 

When  nurses  were  called  for,  it  was  out  of  the  very 
heart  of  the  situation  that  Mrs.  D.  M.  Brundage,  of  this 
city,  having  given  her  four  sons  to  the  cause,  added  her  own 
services.  And  it  was  the  same  when  Mrs.  Upright,  of 
Rockford,  a  very  mother  in  Israel,  having  sent  seven  sons 
into  the  field,  declared  she  had  three  more  to  answer  the 
next  call,  and  when  these  left  she  would  go  with  them. 

The  early  regiments,  hurriedly  gotten  together,  in- 
adequately provided  with  even  the  essentials  to  a  soldier's 
well-being  in  the  field,  soon  fell  into  a  perilous  state;  and 
from  every  camp  there  came  appeals  for  nurses.  From  the 
first,  brave  women  stood  ready  to  give  their  lives  for  the 
cause.  The  credit  of  being  the  first  to  volunteer  as  nurses 
in  Chicago  is  given  to  the  Misses  Jane  A.  Babcock  and 
Mary  E.  M.  Foster.  And  within  a  week  after  the  fall  of 
Fort  Sumter,  at  a  meeting  held  at  the  Briggs  House  and 
presided  over  by  the  Rev.  Robert  CoUyer,  a  number  of 
mothers  and  sisters  of  the  men  who  were  being  hurried  to 
the  front  were  organized  into  a  nursing  corps.  Among 
these  were  Mesdames  J.  S.  Kellogg,  Mary  Evans,  A.  M. 
Beaubien,  E.  S.  Johnson,  E.  B.  Graves,  and  Annette 
Sleightly.  Shortly  after,  Mrs.  P.  E.  Yates  was  appointed 
presiding  matron  of  the  military  hospitals  at  Cairo,  where 
most  of  the  men  recruited  in  Chicago  were  rendezvoused. 
Mrs.  Yates  selected  for  her  assistants  the  Misses  Jane  A. 
Miller,  L.  B.  Slaymaker,  Mary  E.  Babcock,  Adeline 
Hamilton,  and  Teresa  Zimmer. 

Miss  Dorothea  L.  Dix,  of  Massachusetts,  had  been  ap- 
pointed "Matron-General"  of  the  army  by  Secretary  of 
War  Cameron;  and  this  very  competent  and  energetic 
leader  in  turn  appointed  Mrs.  D.  P.  (Mary  A.)  Livermore 
and  Mrs.  A.  H.  Hoge  her  representatives  in  the  West,  and 


106  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

these  two  forceful  women  soon  gathered  about  them  an 
efficient  corps  of  helpers. 

Among  the  many  women  held  in  grateful  remembrance 
by  the  men  in  the  field,  because  of  untiring  service  in  their 
behalf,  besides  those  already  mentioned,  one  most  readily 
recalls:  Mrs.  Myra  A.  Bradwell,  Mrs.  O.  E.  Hosmer, 
Mrs.  Henry  Sayers,  Mrs.  J.  H.  Woodworth,  Mrs.  J. 
W.  Steele,  Mrs.  C.  W.  Andrews,  Mrs.  J.  Long,  Mrs.  M. 
A.  Burnham,  Mrs.  Reuben  Ludlow,  Mrs.  N.  H.  Parker, 
Mrs.  C.  P.  Dickinson,  Mrs.  J.  O.  Brayman,  Mrs.  Ambrose 
Foster,  Mrs.  Joseph  Medill,  Mrs.  E.  S.  Wadsworth,  Mrs. 
E.  Higgins,  Mrs.  F.  W.  Robinson,  Mrs.  A.  Foster,  Mrs. 
E.  H.  Gushing,  Mrs.  Jerome  Beecher,  Mrs.  W.  H.  Clark, 
Mrs.  Smith  Tinkham,  Mrs.  J.  K.  Botsford,  Mrs.  W.  E. 
Doggett,  Mrs.  C.  N.  Holden,  Mrs.  J.  H.  Tuttle,  Mrs. 
Lawrence,  Mrs.  E.  W.  Blatchford,  Mrs.  I.  Greenfelder, 
Mrs.  George  Gibbs,  Mrs.  E.  F.  Dickinson,  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Blackie,  Mrs.  Dr.  Ingalls,  Mrs.  O.  D.  Ranney,  Mrs.  J.  M. 
Harvey,  Mrs.  C.  M.  Clark,  Mrs.  H.  L.  Bristol,  Mrs.  J.  M. 
Loomis,  Mrs.  J.  C.  Shepley,  Mrs.  Sarah  E.  Henshaw, 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  Porter,  Mrs.  Colonel  Sloan,  Mrs.  C.  C. 
Webster,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Hawley. 

THE   "soldiers'   REST,"   THE   "SOLDIERS'    HOME,"   THE 
SANITARY  FAIRS 

It  was  by  women  of  this  group  that  the  "Soldiers' 
Rest"  was  founded  in  the  first  stages  of  the  struggle.  Here 
hundred  of  thousands  of  meals  were  served  to  the  brave 
boys  in  blue;  for  there  was  never  a  regiment  permitted  to 
pass  through  the  city  without  entertainment.  It  was  also 
through  their  efforts  that  the  "Soldiers'  Home"  came  into 
being  while  the  war  was  still  in  progress ;  that  the  two  great 
Sanitary  Fairs  were  organized  and  brought  to  a  successful 


THE  WORK  OF  THE  WOMEN  107 

issue ;  that  camp  hospitals  were  equipped  and  supphed  with 
nurses  and  medical  supplies,  and  the  men  with  such  coveted 
luxuries  as  onions,  pickles,  and  chowchow,  to  supplement 
the  regular  menu  of  "sow-belly"  and  hardtack  provided 
by  Uncle  Sam.  All  this  was  before  the  time  of  scientific 
food  preservation,  and  only  the  "cove"  oyster  was  canned. 

EXPENDITURE  BY  THE  BOARD  OF  TRADE  AND  BY 
SOLOMON  STURGES 

For  a  considerable  period  almost  every  detail  necessary 
to  put  the  men  in  the  field  depended  on  private  initiative. 
The  Board  of  Trade  fitted  out  a  number  of  regiments, 
while  Solomon  Sturges,  at  a  cost  to  himself  of  twenty  thou- 
sand dollars,  put  in  the  field  the  "Sturges  Rifles" ;  and  that 
was  but  one  of  his  many  contributions.  Not  only  was  Mr. 
Sturges  the  largest  giver  to  the  war  in  Chicago,  but  it  was 
said  that  he  contributed  more  than  any  man  in  the  country. 
That,  however,  may  be  questioned.  When,  near  the  close 
of  1864,  the  doctors  informed  this  sturdy  patriot  that  his 
hour  had  come,  he  insisted  they  were  mistaken,  as  he  could 
not  die  until  Richmond  was  taken.  Grant  was  then  before 
Petersburg,  and  it  would  have  been  pleasant  to  say  he 
had  made  good  the  old  gentleman's  contention. 

WOMEN   OFFICERS   UNDER   MATRON-GENERAL   DIX 

Aside  from  her  official  position  as  a  representative  of 
Matron-General  Dix,  the  one  to  whom  probably  most 
credit  is  due  for  energizing  the  local  feminine  forces  in  sup- 
port of  the  fighting  sex,  is  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Livermore,  an 
extraordinarily  dominant  personality.  Her  husband,  the 
Rev.  D.  P.  Livermore,  editor  of  a  Universalist  paper,  was 
well  above  the  average  of  men,  both  in  stature  and  mental 
force,  and  also  very  active  in  all  manner  of  public  affairs ; 


108  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

but  he  never  quite  succeeded  in  establishing  his  identity 
independent  of  Mary  A.  Such  was  the  separatist  state  of 
the  religious  mind,  that  had  Mrs.  Livermore  been  a  less 
personahty,  the  majority  of  the  women  with  evangelical 
affiliations,  who  so  willingly  accepted  her  leadership,  might 
well  have  refused  to  follow,  because  of  her  heretical  belief 
in  ultimate  universal  salvation.  Mrs.  A.  H.  Hoge,  who 
shared  official  honors  with  Mrs.  Livermore  as  a  representa- 
tive of  the  Matron-General,  was  also  a  very  forceful 
personahty,  with  an  executive  talent  of  a  high  order;  and 
another  who  was  ever  in  the  forefront  as  an  efficient  leader 
and  worker  was  Myra,  the  talented  wife  of  Judge  J.  B. 
Bradwell,  and  latter  a  "limb  of  the  law"  on  her  own 
account. 

Men  of  the  stamp  of  Thomas  B.  Bryan,  Mark  Skinner, 
and  E.  B.  McCagg,  were  called  to  the  head  of  the  various 
movements  to  ameliorate  the  hardships  of  the  struggle,  and 
virtually  gave  all  their  time  and  much  of  their  substance  to 
further  the  work.  But  these  effective  personalities  by  no 
means  obscured  the  light  of  the  women  in  positions  behind 
them;  for  not  only  were  all  details  left  in  their  hands,  but 
many  of  the  larger  initiatives  were  due  to  their  experience 
as  home  managers  or  to  their  intuitive  foresight. 

WORK  DONE  FOE  THE  SOLDIERS  BY  GIELS 

Among  the  younger  generation  —  the  sisters  and  sweet- 
hearts of  the  "boys"  who  had  responded  to  their  country's 
call  —  the  desire  to  render  service  equalled  that  of  their 
elders.  There  was  lint  to  pick  (this  was  before  the  days 
of  antiseptics) ;  and  who  shall  say  that  many  a  wound  did 
not  heal  the  quicker  for  the  precious  "magnetism"  im- 
parted to  the  filaments  by  sympathetic  maidenly  hands? 
There  were  all  manner  of  other  hospital  equipments,  such 


THE   WORK   OF  THE   WOMEN  109 

as  bandages,  sheets,  pillow  slips,  etc.,  to  be  provided; 
and  in  its  furtherance  that  indefatigable  patriot,  J.  H. 
McVicker,  set  up  a  battery  of  thirty  sewing-machines  on  an 
upper  floor  of  his  theatre.  There  was  always  opportunity 
for  service  at  the  "Soldiers'  Rest,"  where  all  departing, 
returning,  or  passing  regiments  were  entertained;  and 
many  a  brave  lad  took  with  him  a  pleasant  memory  of  fair 
ministrants  decked  in  red,  white,  and  blue  scarfs,  who 
favored  them  so  generously  with  cheering  smiles  and  ap- 
petizing "goodies." 

THE   SANITARY  FAIR  OF   1863 

Prior  to  the  two  great  Sanitary  Fairs,  held  respectively 
in  1863  and  1865,  there  was  held  in  the  early  days  of  the 
war,  with  the  idea  of  developing  "sinews,"  under  the  man- 
agement of  Mesdames  Livermore,  Hoge,  and  Hosmer, 
what  was  known  as  a  "Festival."  Then,  in  1863,  followed 
the  Sanitary  Fair  which  was  to  prove  the  parent  of  a 
numerous  progeny  all  over  the  country,  in  aid  of  the  Sani- 
tary Commission.  To  this  President  Lincoln  contributed 
the  perfected  draft  of  his  Emancipation  Proclamation,* 

*  There  appears  to  be  a  good  deal  of  conftision  and  not  a  little  misinformation 
extant,  with  reference  to  Emancipation  Proclamation  "  originals,"  and  their  dis- 
position and  fate.  The  one  sold  at,  and  for  the  benefit  of,  the  first  Chicago  Sani- 
tary Fair,  was  undoubtedly  the  first  clean  draft  carefully  copied  by  the  President 
for  final  approval  by  the  Cabinet;  and  there  is  evidence  that  it  was  with  great 
reluctance  that  he  finally  placed  this  priceless  document  at  the  disposal  of  the  fair. 
According  to  all  late  references  that  have  come  under  my  notice,  it  was  bought  in 
at  auction  by  Thomas  B.  Bryan,  and  presented  by  him  to  the  Soldiers'  Home. 
The  manuscript  was  deposited  by  the  Board  of  Managers  of  the  Soldiers'  Home 
in  the  "fire-proof"  building  of  the  Chicago  Historical  Society,  where  it  was 
destroyed  in  the  fire  of  1871.  That  it  was  not  allowed  to  perish  without  an  heroic 
struggle  is  evidenced  by  a  letter  from  Col.  Samuel  Stone,  assistant  secretary  and 
librarian  of  the  Historical  Society,  who,  when  the  alarm  of  fire  was  given  on  the 
morning  of  October  9,  1871,  rushed  to  the  Historical  Society.  He  writes:  "  I  at- 
tempted to  break  the  frame  of  the  Proclamation  and  take  it  out.     But  the  frame 


110  BYGONE  DAYS  IN   CHICAGO 

which  sold  for  three  thousand  dollars,  and  thereby  won  for 
the  liberator  a  hugely  magnificent  gold  watch,  which  had 
been  offered  as  a  prize  to  the  one  whose  individual  gift 
should  represent  the  highest  money  value.  It  was  duly 
presented  to  the  President  by  the  Hon.  Isaac  N.  Arnold, 
Chicago's  Congressman,  in  his  best  Chesterfieldian  man- 
ner, on  behalf  of  the  committee  of  ladies  who  bore  it  to 
Washington.  The  recipient  is  reported  to  have  acknowl- 
edged the  gift  with  one  of  his  best  stories ;  but  what  it  was 
all  about  the  ladies  could  never  be  got  to  tell. 

THE   SANITARY   FAIR   OF   1865 

Then,  in  1865,  it  was  determined  to  hold  another  fair, 
and  on  a  much  larger  scale,  a  part  of  the  proceeds  to  go  to 
the  Soldiers'  Home,  and  the  remainder  to  the  Sanitary 
Commission.  It  was  at  first  proposed  to  open  it  on  Wash- 
ington's Birthday,  and  to  close  it  on  the  day  of  Lincoln's 
second  inauguration.  But  the  work,  under  a  committee 
from  each  church  and  every  sort  of  secular  organization,  as- 
sumed such  proportions,  that  the  thirtieth  of  May  was  then 
fixed  upon  for  the  opening.  Meantime  Lee  had  surren- 
dered, an  event  that  was  soon  followed  by  the  assassination 
of  the  President;  and  the  corner-stone  was  laid  in  silence 
and  sadness.  Although  the  war  had  come  to  a  sudden  close, 
there  was  still  great  need  of  funds  to  care  for  the  disabled ; 

was  so  stout  it  was  not  easily  done;  and  just  as  I  was  making'the  attempt  there 
came  another  blast  of  fire  and  smoke,  .  .  .  The  entire  building  and  everything 
surrounding  it  was  one  mass  of  flame,  the  fire  burning  every  brick,  apparently." 

But  there  is  another  "  original,"  and  a  very  real  one,  extant.  It  was  pre- 
sented by  the  President  to  the  Albany  Army  Relief  Bazaar  on  January  4,  1864, 
and  was  sold  by  the  bazaar  to  Gerritt  Smith,  the  famous  Abolitionist,  for  $1,100. 
Mr.  Smith  in  turn  presented  it  to  the  United  States  Sanitary  Commission.  In  1865, 
by  action  of  the  legislature  of  the  State  of  New  York,  it  was  purchased  from  the 
eonunission  for  $1,000,  and  ordered  to  be  deposited  in  the  State  Library,  where  it 
now  is. 


THE  WORK  OF  THE  WOMEN  111 

and  so  a  building  was  erected,  which  completely  covered 
the  old  Dearborn  park,  now  occupied  by  the  public  library ; 
while  Bryan  Hall  served  as  a  trophy-hall  adjunct.  Con- 
tributions were  received  from  all  over  the  world:  from 
England,  France,  Germany,  Switzerland,  Italy,  Denmark, 
Sweden,  Norway,  China,  Japan,  and  it  proved  an  extraor- 
dinary success.  The  Hon.  Thomas  B.  Bryan  was  the 
active  manager,  assisted  by  most  of  the  ladies  I  have  men- 
tioned; Mrs.  W.  T.  Sherman  had  personal  supervision  of 
one  of  the  departments;  General  Grant  presented  "Jack," 
the  horse  he  rode  while  Colonel  of  the  Twenty-first  Illinois 
Infantry ;  Iowa  farmers  contributed  four  hundred  acres  of 
land ;  Lincoln's  log  cabin  was  imported,  and  erected  in  all 
its  primitive  uniqueness;  Harriet  Hosmer  sent  her  statue 
of  Zenobia;  Carpenter  his  painting  of  "The  Signing  of  the 
Emancipation  Proclamation";  Bierstadt  his  "Rocky 
Mountains";  Professor  Goldwin  Smith  presented  a  valu- 
able painting;  and  famous  literaiy  men  sent  the  manu- 
scripts of  their  inspirations.    Horace  Greeley  wrote :      ^ 

"Office  of  the  Tribune, 
"New  York,  May  7,  1865. 
"My  Dear  Sir: 

"  I  have  your  note  and  circular.  I  enclose  herewith  as  many  photo- 
graphs of  myself  (half  a  dozen)  as  will  probably  be  required  to  glut 
the  market.  As  to  Arms  or  Trophies,  not  having  used  the  former  in 
our  late  terrible  struggle,  I  have  had  no  opportunity  to  acquire  the 

latter. 

"I  am  yours, 

"Horace  Greeley." 

"mrs.  paetington"  expresses  her  feelings 
"Mrs.  Partington,"  having  been  invited  to  express  her 
feelings,  gave  utterance  to  the  following: 

"Dear  Sir: — Perhaps  you  don't  know  Isaac  has  gone  to  the  con- 
tented field;  he  was  grafted  last  fall  in  one  of  the  wings  of  the  army; 


112  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

I  suppose  the  flying  artillery.  I  wrote  to  Mr.  Stanton,  telling  him  not 
to  put  Isaac  where  he  would  get  shot,  as  he  wasn't  used  to  it.  I  know 
what  influenza  you  must  have  with  the  President,  and  I  write  this  to  you 
to  get  Isaac  on  a  furlong,  so  he  can  get  his  mended  pantaloons;  for 
he  writes  me  two  of  their  'parrots'  burst  their  breeches,  and  I  think 
what  an  awful  thing  it  would  be  if  Isaac  was  a  parrot.  When  Isaac 
used  to  sing  'I  want  to  be  an  angel'  I  did  not  think  he  would  be  so  soon 
with  the  'Swamp  angels'  down  in  Charleston.  He  says  the  war  will 
be  over  soon,  and  he  will  come  back  a  Victoria.  I'm  sure  I  wish  it 
was  over,  or  had  not  been  commenced  yet. 

"  Yours, 

"Ruth  Partington." 

A  daily  paper  called  The  Voice  of  the  Fair  was  pub- 
lished by  the  management,  and  a  bound  file  of  this  unique 
souvenir  remains  in  possession  of  the  Hon.  E.  B.  Sherman, 
one  of  its  editors. 

WAR  AND   SLAVERY   RELICS   ON   EXHIBITION 

Bryan  Hall  was  draped  with  flags,  and  here  many 
unique  relics  were  exhibited.  Among  these  was  a  bell  from 
the  Mississippi  plantation  of  Jefferson  Davis,  which  had 
formerly  called  his  "hands"  to  their  daily  tasks:  it  was 
here  used  morning  and  night  to  open  and  close  the  fair. 
Hardly  less  interesting  was  a  rusty  iron  collar  that  had 
decorated  the  necks  of  slaves.  But  the  relic  that 
attracted  most  attention  was  a  sign  with  the  legend  "Libby 
&  Son,  Ship  Chandlers,'*  —  a  fearsome  reminder  to  not  a 
few  who  looked  upon  it  here,  of  days  and  months  of  unut- 
terable suffering  in  Richmond's  prison.  On  the  centre  of 
the  stage,  in  solemn  state,  rested  the  catafalque  whereon 
in  his  last  sleep  had  reposed  the  nation's  martyr.  As  show- 
ing how  the  trophies  from  Rebel  lands  displayed  here  in 
such  numbers,  were  regarded  at  the  time,  I  will  let  The 
Voice  of  the  Fair  speak,  as  it  truly  reflects  not  only  the 


THE  WORK  OF  THE  WOMEN  113 

feeling  of  the  day,  but  also  the  manner  in  which  it  fre- 
quently found  utterance : 

"  And  here  too  have  come  the  foul  and  loathsome  emblems  of  trea- 
son and  slavery  —  the  exponents  of  that  hellish  monster,  begotten  in 
fraud,  conceived  in  wickedness,  born  in  violence,  rapine,  plunder,  and 
cruelty,  and  swaddled  all  over  with  a  pestilential  garment,  whose  warp 
was  treason,  whose  woof  was  shameless  lies,  and  baptized  in  the  blood 
of  Liberty's  martyrs." 

ARRIVAL   OF   GENERALS   SHERMAN   AND   GRANT 

The  chief  events  among  many  stirring  incidents  that 
marked  the  progress  of  the  fair  were  the  arrival  on  dif- 
ferent days,  fresh  from  their  hard-won  victories,  first  of 
General  Sherman  and  later  of  General  Grant.  To  a  gen- 
eration whose  enthusiasms,  for  lack  of  emotional  issues,  are 
necessarily  somewhat  perfunctory  or  altogether  artificial 
—  as  when  a  candidate  is  vociferously  acclaimed  in  a  nomi- 
nating convention  for  the  best  part  of  an  hour  —  it  is  not 
easy  to  convey  through  the  medium  of  words  a  sense  of  the 
spontaneous,  irresistible  uprush  of  feeling  that  in  the  hour 
of  final  victory  marked  every  possible  occasion  for  a  dem- 
onstration. The  four  years  of  suspense  were  well  calcu- 
lated to  engender  a  form  of  popular  hysteria.  By  a  slow, 
costly,  death-charged  process  of  selection,  two  men  had 
risen  above  all  others  to  leadership.  In  their  hands  had 
come  to  rest  the  fate  of  the  nation ;  and  now,  in  the  hour  of 
supreme  triumph,  these  two  were  Chicago's  guests ! 

AN   ENTHUSIASTIC   RECEPTION   TO  EACH 

The  reception  of  General  Sherman,  if  not  so  elaborate 
as  that  tendered  the  Lieutenant-General,  was  not  one  whit 
less  enthusiastic.  In  both  instances  any  difference  was 
simply  a  case  of  less  or  more  opportunities  afforded  by 
the  programme.    When  General  Sherman  arrived,  cannon 


114  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

boomed  a  salute,  and  the  hero  of  the  hour,  on  alighting 
from  the  train,  found  himself  in  the  midst  of  a  frenzied 
populace,  which  no  restraining  force  could  keep  within 
bounds.  Happily  the  march  to  the  fair  was  shorter  than 
that  through  Georgia.  At  the  building  the  General  was 
received  in  fitting  terms  by  Mayor  Rice ;  then  a  poem  — 
well,  "Old  Tecimiseh"  was  never  known  to  flinch  before 
any  ordeal,  whatever  the  suffering  it  might  entail. 

Two  days  later,  on  the  tenth  of  June,  it  was  General 
Grant's  turn  to  face  the  music,  and  this  in  quite  a  literal 
sense.  The  hero  of  Appomattox  was  received  by  the 
Mayor  and  Council,  and  by  delegations  from  every  kind 
of  organization,  headed  by  the  Board  of  Trade.  "Fight- 
ing Joe"  Hooker,  himself  no  mean  hero,  as  commander  of 
the  department  was  present  with  his  staff,  and  it  devolved 
on  him  to  deliver  the  formal  address  of  welcome;  for  this 
was  in  effect  a  military  reception,  with  salutes  of  cannon, 
and  an  escort  from  every  branch  of  the  service. 

General  Grant,  as  became  the  occasion,  rode  literally 
at  the  head  of  the  army,  and  he  bestrode  his  old  war-horse 
"Jack,"  donated  by  him  for  the  benefit  of  the  fair. 

General  Sherman  had  taken  his  medicine  as  became  the 
occasion,  by  entering  heartily  into  the  spirit  of  it  —  and 
again  and  again  his  face  was  wreathed  in  smiles,  with,  per- 
haps, a  suggestion  of  the  sardonic,  while  the  glitter  in  his 
eye  was  a  challenge  to  ever  fresh  enthusiasms.  But  Grant 
was  literally  in  "The  Wilderness"  once  again.  He  sat  his 
horse  as  grimly  as  if  all  the  forces  of  Lee  were  in  ambush 
before  him,  and  there  was  no  opening  line  in  sight  on  which 
to  fight  it  out.  To  a  man  as  diffident  as  the  Grant  of  those 
days  —  he  in  time  overcame  his  reticence,  as  he  did  many 
tilings  —  it  was  indeed  trying  to  face  such  a  turbulent 
human  sea  with  its  waves  upon  waves  of  ever  higher  rising 


By  Courtesy  of  the  Cliicago  Historical  Socicly 


MRS.  MARY    A.    ("MOTHER"*)    BICKERDYKE 
(Organizer  of  Military  Hospitals  and  Friend  of  the  Soldiers) 


THE  WORK  OF  THE  WOMEN  115 

enthusiasm.  But  all  this  was  as  nothing  to  the  ordeal  that 
awaited  him  inside  the  building,  when  he  found  himself 
face  to  face  with  the  city's  young  and  exuberant  beauty, 
strewing  the  way  to  the  platform  with  flowers. 

GENERAL   GRANT   DECLINES   TO   MAKE   A   SPEECH 

After  the  addresses  of  welcome  General  Grant  was 
naturally  called  upon  for  a  speech,  but  declined.  General 
Sherman  was  then  called  on,  and  said:  "I  have  always 
been  willing  to  do  anything  the  Lieutenant- General  asked 
me  to  do,  but  he  has  never  asked  me  to  make  a  speech." 
To  this  Grant  replied,  "I  have  never  asked  a  soldier  to* 
do  anything  I  could  n't  do  myself." 

The  net  proceeds  of  the  fair  were  about  four  hundred 
thousand  dollars;  while  the  Sanitary  Fairs  in  different 
parts  of  the  country  —  offspring  of  the  first  held  in  Chi- 
cago in  1863  —  netted  nearly  five  million  dollars. 

MRS.    BICKERDYKE's    ARRAIGNMENT    OF    MEN    WHO    WOULD 

NOT  HELP 

While  still  on  the  theme  of  the  work  of  the  women  in 
behalf  of  the  men  in  the  field,  I  cannot  refrain  from  going 
outside  the  local  record  to  say  a  word  about  Mrs.  Mary  A. 
Bickerdyke,  of  Cleveland,  who  visited  Chicago  more  than 
once,  when  things  seemed  to  need  stirring  up  a  bit. 
"Mother"  Bickerdyke  —  the  name  by  which  she  was  best 
known  among  the  camps  and  hospitals  of  the  army  —  was 
nothing  if  not  fearless  and  original.  At  one  time  she  had 
charge  of  the  Gayoso  Hospital,  at  Memphis,  and  by  keep- 
ing every  one  connected  with  it  up  to  a  strict  line  of  duty, 
made  it  a  model  for  other  military  hospitals.  She  had  the 
head  of  one  of  the  field  hospitals  discharged.  He  appealed 
to  General  Sherman,  Commander  of  the  department,  who 


116  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

asked,  *'Who  caused  your  discharge?"  The  answer  was, 
"It  was  that  woman  Bickerdyke."  "Oh,"  was  the  reply, 
"I  can  do  nothing  for  you;  she  ranks  me." 

As  the  name  Bickerdyke  might  suggest,  its  bearer  was 
afraid  of  nobody,  and  least  of  all,  of  a  man.  When  she 
wanted  to  stir  the  stay-at-homes  up  to  their  duty,  she  went 
after  them  in  this  fashion : 

"You  merchants  and  rich  men,  living  at  your  ease  dressed  in  your 
broadcloth,  knowing  little  and  caring  less  for  the  sufferings  of  the 
soldiers  from  hunger  and  thirst,  from  cold  and  nakedness,  from  sick- 
ness and  wounds,  from  pain  and  death,  all  incurred  that  you  may  roll 
in  wealth,  and  your  homes  and  little  ones  be  safe, — you  refuse  to  give 
aid  to  these  poor  soldiers,  because,  forsooth,  you  gave  a  few  dollars 
some  time  ago  to  fit  out  a  regiment!  Shame  on  you  —  you  are  not 
men  —  you  are  cowards.  Go  over  to  Canada !  This  country  has  no 
place  for  such  creatures." 

Mrs.  Bickerdyke  was  with  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee 
at  Mission  Ridge,  and  was  the  only  woman  in  the  field  hos- 
pital there.  Thence  she  went  to  the  field  hospital  near 
Chattanooga,  where  she  was  joined  by  Mrs.  Eliza  A. 
Porter,  an  accomplished  lady,  who  had  been  sent  by  the 
Northwestern  Sanitary  Commission  at  Chicago,  and  was 
thereafter  her  constant  associate.  She  attended  Sherman's 
army  in  the  Atlanta  campaign,  and  was  afterwards  called 
to  Nashville  and  Franklin  to  nurse  the  wounded  in  those 
terrible  battles.  Later  she  organized  the  supply  depart- 
ment of  the  hospital  in  Savannah,  and  followed  Sherman's 
army  through  the  Carolinas. 


CHAPTER   IX 

THE  PART  OF  THE  SINGERS 

Both  North  and  South  Sustained  by  Inward  Forces  —  Causes  of 
Illinois'  Preeminence  among  the  States  in  Filling  its 
Quotas  —  The  Brothers  Frank  and  Jules  Lumbard  —  Influ- 
ence OK  THEIR  Quartette  on  Enlistments  —  Chicago  and  the 
More  Immediate  West  Roused  to  a  High  Pitch  of  Patriotic 
Sacrifice  —  "The  Battle  Cry  of  Freedom"  —  Frank  Lumbard 
AND  "Ole  Shady" — A  Letter  from  Jules  about  the  Song  — 
Generous  Services  Unrequited  —  An  Appeal. 

AS  the  great  war  crisis  lengthens  in  mental  perspective, 
some  matters  that  once  loomed  large  in  the  fore- 
ground recede  vaguely  into  colorless  shadow,  while 
others,  through  a  better  informed  estimate  of  values, 
grow  in  self-illumining  proportions.  On  the  side 
of  the  South,  the  underlying  feeling  which  unheedingly 
forced  the  issue  to  an  arbitrament  by  the  sword,  and  there- 
after sustained  the  "lost  cause"  to  the  bitter  end,  was  an 
overweening  pride,  the  result  of  a  long-fostered  sense  of 
caste  superiority.  On  the  side  of  the  North  the  sensi- 
bilities involved  were  of  a  more  impersonal  character  —  a 
patriotism  comprehended  under  the  symbol  of  Union,  and 
here  and  there  touched  with  a  sentimental  regard  for  the 
condition  of  the  slave.  When  it  is  remembered  that  the 
South  believed  as  thoroughly  as  the  North  in  the  justice 
of  her  cause,  it  is  possible  to  see  that  her  pride,  joined  to 
the  feeling  that  she  was  defending  her  homes,  made  a  con- 
dition where  powers  of  resistance  and  endurance  were 
distinctly  less  in  need  of  extraneous  stimuli  than  was  the 
case  with  the  synthesis  of  feelings  that  kept  the  Northern 

117 


118  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

armies  at  their  accepted  task ;  and  hence  extrinsic  influences 
to  enthusiasm  were  far  more  important  as  supports  to  the 
cause  of  the  Union  than  to  that  of  the  enemy.  Neither  side 
in  those  days  understood  the  other,  and  each  sadly  mis- 
calculated the  other's  staying  powers.  For  the  inward 
forces  that  sustained  the  North  in  its  long  struggle  the 
South  had  no  vision  whatsoever.  To  it  the  Northern  peo- 
ple were  prideless,  shop-keeping  "mudsills,"  in  whose  eyes 
only  the  dollar  had  value.  It  credited  no  depths  of  senti- 
ment to  descendants  from  a  Puritan  ancestry ;  knew  nought 
of  the  sacrificial  possibilities  of  a  freedom-loving  Ger- 
man idealism  —  founts  whose  uprushings  could  be  trans- 
lated into  deeds  through  the  alchemy  of  song  and  story. 
Who  of  that  time,  for  example,  can  forget  the  emotional 
thrill  produced  by  Dr.  Hale's  "Man  Without  a  Country," 
or  estimate  in  fighting  terms  the  services  of  a  man  like 
George  F.  Root,  an  inspired  singer,  who  fitted  himself  to 
the  hour  as  steel  to  flint?  The  South  was  stimulated  by 
thoughts  of  chivalry,  and  panoplied  in  those  qualities  that 
exalt  men  in  the  eyes  of  sentimental  womanhood.  With 
the  North  fought  all  the  invisible  hosts  of  the  historic  past 
whose  blood  has  enriched  the  soil  of  freedom ;  all  the  spirits 
of  martyrs  who  for  imperishable  ideals  found  death  at  the 
stake ;  and  when  the  strength  and  fortitude  which  these  ex- 
amples inspired  were  failing,  they  could  be  revivified  by 
those  stimuli  which  excite  emotions  that  most  readily  spur 
to  action. 

CAUSES   OF   ILLINOIS*   EXCEPTIONALLY   LARGE   ENLISTMENT 

The  exceptional  position  of  Illinois  among  her  loyal 
sister  States,  as  the  only  one  whose  quotas  were  placed  in 
the  field  without  resort  to  the  draft,  has  been  frequently 
attributed  to  the  fact  that  it  gave  Abraham  Lincoln  to  the 


GEORGE   F.   ROOT 

(Composer  of  "The  Battle-Cry  of  Freedom,' 
and  Other  Inspirit  Songs) 


THE  PART  OF  THE  SINGERS  119 

nation,  and  so  had  a  special  incentive  to  sustain  him  in  his 
arduous  task.  But,  as  I  attempt  to  evaluate  the  various 
influences  that  joined  in  the  proud  result,  certain  other  fac- 
tors urge  themselves  for  recognition.  If  the  great  Presi- 
dent was  an  inspiration  to  enlistment  among  the  intensely 
loyal,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  he  was  also  hated  and 
reviled  as  none  other:  and  that  between  his  ardent  sup- 
porters and  his  envenomed  detractors,  there  was  a  consider- 
able middle  zone  occupied  by  a  class  who  might  be  moved 
only  by  some  form  of  self-interest  or  extraneous  excitation. 
The  lure  of  large  bounties  was  in  the  later  years  of  the  war 
all  over  the  land ;  and  while  this  might  hold  a  strong  posi- 
tion in  the  background  of  intention,  it  was  of  the  first 
importance  to  the  work  of  enlistment  that  something  out 
of  the  common  should  stir  the  blood  and  help  to  fix  the 
resolution. 

Who  was  it  that  said,  "Let  me  write  the  songs  of  a 
people  and  I  care  not  who  makes  its  laws"?  But  great 
songs  have  no  fixed  habitation.  Indeed,  frequently  they 
are  popularized  far  from  the  scene  of  their  birth:  so  much 
is  due  to  the  manner  of  their  exploitation  —  so  frequently 
to  some  exceptional  interpretation.  Was  it  merely  a  coin- 
cidence that  the  maker  of  the  war's  most  inspiring  lyrics, 
and  their  "creators"  (as  the  stage  people  say)  and  most 
gifted  celebrants  were  local  co-workers?  These  battle 
paeans  were  heard  in  Chicago,  where  they  were  born,  as 
nowhere  else.  If  inspiration  requires  a  congenial  atmos- 
phere for  spontaneous  expression,  there  was  much  here  to 
call  it  forth. 

THE   BROTHERS   LUMBARD   AS   SINGERS 

The  Lumbards,  Frank  and  Jules,  were  notabilities 
years  before  the  war.    Through  these  gifted  brothers  sing- 


120  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

ing  had  fairly  got  into  Chicago's  blood;  and  so  all  was 
ready  to  give  a  whole-hearted  welcome  to  the  gift  of  the 
muses,  as  a  form  of  emotional  expression  suited  to  the  hour. 
Jules  G.  Lumbard,  in  his  prime,  was  regarded  as  one  of 
the  finest  bassos  in  the  country;  and  to  this  rare  gift  for- 
tune added  a  presence  that  happily  still  makes  this  master- 
singer  in  his  hale  old  age  one  of  the  marked  figures  of  the 
city.  Frank's  voice  was  a  sonorous  tenor ;  and,  if  not  quite 
the  equal  of  the  brother's  in  purity,  it  had  a  quality  all  its 
own,  a  triumphant  heartiness  that  irresistibly  compelled  his 
auditors  to  follow  where  he  led,  and  to  ring  out  the  chorus 
as  if  the  life  of  the  country  depended  on  each  individual 
doing  his  very  utmost. 

THEIR   SINGING   OF    "tHE   BATTLE    CRY   OF   FREEDOM" 

Mr.  George  P.  Upton  shared  to  the  full  the  emotions 
of  the  hour.  In  his  recently  published  "Musical  Mem- 
ories," through  which  those  who  were  of  the  elder  time  can 
so  truly  live  many  experiences  over  again,  he  thus  asso- 
ciates these  singers  with  some  significant  incidents : 

"When  President  Lincoln  issued  his  second  call  for  troops,  'The 
Battle  Cry  of  Freedom'  occurred  to  him  [Root]  as  a  motive  for  a 
song,  while  he  was  reading  the  document.  He  dashed  it  off  hurriedly 
the  next  morning  at  the  store.  There  was  to  l?e  a  public  meeting  on 
the  same  day  in  the  Court  House  Square.  Frank  and  Jules  Lumbard, 
who  were  the  singers  laureate  of  the  war  period,  came  to  the  store  to 
get  something  new  to  sing.  The  Doctor  gave  them  'The  Battle  Cry.' 
They  ran  it  over  once  or  twice,  went  to  the  meeting,  and  shouted  it  in 
their  trumpet  tones,  and  before  the  last  verse  was  finished  thousands 
joined  in  the  refrain.  It  spread  from  that  Square  all  over  the  coun- 
try. It  was  heard  in  camps,  on  the  march,  upon  the  battle  field.  It 
became  the  Northern  Marseillaise.  I  heard  it  sung  once  under  pe- 
culiar circumstances,  when  I  was  with  the  Mississippi  flotilla,  acting 
as  correspondent  for  The  Chicago  Tribune.  There  was  a  transport 
in  convoy  of  the  fleet,  with  troops  on  board.     One  evening,  as  I  sat 


By  Courtesy  of  tlie  C'hiciiiso  Historical  Society 


COVER   OF  "THE   BATTLE-CRY  OF    FREEDOM" 

(Written  by  Georjre  F.  Root  at  the  Time  of  Lincoln's  Second  Call  for 

Troops;  First  Sung  by  Frank  and  Jules  Lunibard  in  the 

Court  House  Square,  Chicago) 


THE  PART  OF  THE  SINGERS  121 

upon  the  deck  of  the  gunboat  wondering  what  would  happen  next  day, 
for  the  Confederates  were  in  our  immediate  vieinity  behind  strong 
batteries,  I  heard  a  clear  tenor  voice  on  the  transport  singing  'The 
Battle  Cry  of  Freedom.'  As  the  singer's  notes  died  away  on  the  even- 
ing air,  the  response  of  '  Dixie '  came  across  the  water  from  an  equally 
clear  tenor.  As  soon  as  he  had  ceased  the  first  singer  continued  the 
concert  by  a  vigorous  shout  of  the  song  which  declares  the  intention 
to  'hang  Jeff  Davis  on  a  sour  apple  tree,  as  we  go  marching  on.' 
There  was  no  song  of  the  war  time  that  equalled  'The  Battle  Cry'  in 
popularity  and  patriotic  inspiration." 

THE   INFLUENCE   OF   THEIR   WAR   QUARTETTE 

When  defeat  followed  defeat,  and  hearts  were  wrung 
to  the  breaking  point,  there  was  in  the  wide  territory  tribu- 
tary to  Chicago  no  instrumentality  to  rouse  men  to  re- 
newed action  —  to  ever  higher  duties  and  sacrifices  — 
comparable  to  these  rarely  gifted  singers.  No  rally  for  the 
Union  within  a  wide  radius  was  complete  without  the 
promised  presence  of  their  war  quartette ;  and  whensoever 
they  were  advertised  to  appear,  there  was  never  a  question 
as  to  the  success  of  the  meeting,  for  then  the  whole  country 
side  for  fifty  miles  around  would  be  on  hand  to  follow  their 
lead  in  '*  Shouting  the  Battle  Cry  of  Freedom."  Frank, 
the  quartette's  leader,  was  an  incarnation  of  optimism,  an 
embodiment  of  the  spirit  of  enthusiasm ;  and,  whatever  the 
situation,  however  oppressed  the  hearts  of  the  people,  he 
possessed  the  gift  to  impart  his  own  high  spirits  to  his  sur- 
roundings. He  just  did  things  in  a  big,  exuberant  way; 
dispelled  clouds  and  made  the  sun  shine  in  spite  of  itself; 
forced  men  and  women  to  sing  and  sing  again,  and  so 
turned  heart-heaviness  into  sacrificial  rejoicing. 

ILLINOIS'   EXCEPTIONALLY   FAVORABLE   CIRCUMSTANCES 

One  must  have  been  of  the  day  and  hour  to  realize  what 
slight  fillip  to  the  sensibilities  often  led  to  resolutions  preg- 


m  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

nant  with  the  issue  of  life  or  death.  Each  successive  call 
filled  the  country  with  a  feverish  unrest,  which  might,  as 
circumstances  determined,  settle  into  a  dispiriting  depres- 
sion or  rise  to  a  fervid  exaltation.  Those  conmiunities  that 
were  without  forceful  leaders  or  other  incentives  to  action 
had  no  recourse  but  to  face  the  draft :  a  proceeding  without 
sentiment.  On  the  other  hand,  a  locality  so  favored  as 
Illinois,  whose  lode-star  was  a  Lincoln,  which  had  the  ef- 
fective leadership  of  a  great  War  Governor,  and  was 
furthermore  uplifted  by  the  exceptional  influences  noted, 
found  in  these  demands  upon  it  only  occasions  for  renewed 
and  greater  efforts ;  and  until  the  task  set  before  it  was  ac- 
complished, all  other  matters  were  thrust  aside. 

UBIQUITOUSNESS  OF  THE  LUMBARD  QUARTETTE 

I  have  spoken  of  the  part  taken  by  the  men  of  the 
Board  of  Trade,  of  the  meetings  held  under  their  direc- 
tion, and  the  extraordinary  enlistment  machinery  set  in 
motion  by  them.  In  all  this,  and  much  besides,  the  Lum- 
bard  quartette  was  ubiquitous.  From  alternating  between 
gatherings  at  Bryan  and  Metropolitan  Halls,  there  would 
be  a  rush  to  the  train  to  meet  an  engagement  at  Urbana 
or  Springfield,  Peoria  or  Freeport,  Rockford,  Galesburg, 
Dixon,  or  Aurora.  Then  back  to  Chicago,  where  further 
rallies  waited  on  their  inspiriting  presence.  And  when  Illi- 
nois had  rushed  its  quota  to  a  triumphant  conclusion,  and 
adjoining  States  were  making  strenuous  efforts  to  escape 
conscription,  the  quartette  would  answer  a  summons  from 
Janesville  or  Madison,  Wisconsin;  Indianapolis  or  Terre 
Haute,  Indiana;  or  Grand  Rapids  or  Lansing,  Michigan. 
And  when  there  was  nothing  special  in  the  recruiting  line 
to  keep  them  at  home,  there  were  loud  calls  from  the 
various  camps  of  the  men  from  Illinois  in  the  field;  and 


FRANK   LLMBARD,  TENOR 


JULES   G.   LLMBARD,  BASSO 
(Chicago's  Famous  Singers  of  War-time  Lyrics) 


THE   PART  OF  THE   SINGERS  123 

SO  all  the  days  of  the  four  years  of  conflict  were  busy  as 
well  as  helpful  ones  for  the  Lumbards. 

CHICAGO  STIRRED  BY  MUSIC  IN  THE  WAR  TIME 

It  is  not  easy  to  interpret  to  an  overworked  age  like 
the  present,  in  which  the  stimuli  to  the  emotions  must 
be  strained  to  the  snapping  point  in  order  to  produce  any 
appreciable  effect,  what  simple  means  sufficed  to  move 
men  to  great  enthusiasms,  when  their  sensibilities  had  not 
been  rendered  callous  by  over-much  artificial  excitation. 
Though  we  are  not  a  spontaneously  musical  people,  as 
are  most  Europeans,  there  was  in  the  war  time  an  outburst 
of  patriotic  song  on  the  slightest  provocation,  shared  in 
by  everybody,  anywhere  and  everywhere;  while  all  the 
great  war  meetings  had  the  appearance  of  mdnnerchor 
reunions.  In  defence  of  the  Wagner  music  drama  (in 
which  even  a  dragon  has  his  "motif")  it  has  been  con- 
tended that  primeval  man  was  more  of  a  singing  than  a 
talking  biped. 

EMOTIONS  OF  SERFS  AND  SLAVES  EXPRESSED  IN  SONG 

We  see  this  illustrated  by  the  chants  in  which  abor- 
igines demonstrate  their  feelings.  Because  the  serfs  un- 
burdened their  hearts  through  music,  fitted  a  melody  to 
every  task  of  drudgery,  as  well  as  to  their  scant  pleasures, 
there  is  for  the  behoof  of  the  modern  composer  an  almost 
inexhaustible  store  of  spontaneous  Russian  folk-music  to 
draw  upon  for  symphonic  elaboration;  and  when  the 
American  Tschaikovsky  shall  arrive,  he  may  well  find  his 
richest  nuggets  among  the  plaints  wrung  from  the  heart 
of  the  African  in  our  slavery  days.  Therefore,  taking 
into  account  the  naive  character  of  the  community, 
together  with  the  storm  and  stress  of  the  times,  it  should 


124  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

not  be  difficult  to  understand  why  the  Lumbards,  through 
their  exceptional  gift,  became  the  voice  of  a  popular  emo- 
tion—  nay,  its  apotheosis  —  and,  rather  than  the  many 
honored  above  their  deserts,  deserve  to  be  held  in  grate- 
ful remembrance  by  their  compatriots;  and,  above  all,  by 
the  people  of  the  Middle  West. 

JULES   LUMBARD's   LETTER   ABOUT    "OLE   SHADy" 

And  this  brings  me  to  where  a  word  about  the  song 
with  which  the  name  of  Frank  Lumbard  is  so  intimately 
associated  may  be  of  interest.  Few  themes  in  Chicago's 
"bygone  days"  are  so  suggestive  of  romance  or  story  as 
"Ole  Shady" — an  idyllic  note  in  a  procession  of  war's 
alarms.  Its  origin  is  shrouded  in  mystery,  its  author  is 
unknown,  and  probably,  like  Topsy,  it  "just  growed." 
Innumerable  legends  have  been  woven  around  it  in  con- 
nection with  its  famous  interpreter  —  most  of  them  pure 
inventions.  With  the  view  of  giving  the  song  all  the  basis 
of  fact  possible  in  the  circimistances,  I  communicated  with 
Jules,  the  superb  basso  of  the  quartette,  and  the  only  sur- 
vivor that  links  the  present  to  those  inspired  bards  who, 
led  by  the  Hutchinson  family,  sang  slavery  to  its  doom. 
I  give  Mr.  Lumbard's  reply  in  full,  for  it  is  a  veritable 
whiff  from  the  spirit  of  those  elder  days,  when  men  were 
truly  moved  out  of  themselves  for  a  cause: 

"My  dear  Mr.  Cook: 

"To  your  inquiry,  I  beg  to  advise  that  the  first  time  we  heard  *01e 
Shady'  it  was  sung  by  an  old  darky,  to  a  banjo  accompaniment,  at 
General  McPherson's  headquarters,  in  the  rear  of  Vicksburg,  while 
that  place  was  under  siege  by  the  Union  forces  under  General  Grant. 
My  brother  Frank  and  myself  were  visitors  there  some  time  before  the 
surrender,  which  occurred  on  July  4,  1863.  We  brought  the  music 
of  the  song  with  us,  —  for  it  was  in  our  ears  and  hearts  from  the  first 
rendering  by  the  gray-haired  minstrel, —  but  it  was  I  who  had  the  fore- 


THE   PART  OF  THE  SINGERS  125 

thought  to  copy  the  words  from  the  dictation  of  the  old  darky,  and 
we  both  took  early  opportunity  to  introduce  it  to  Northern  audiences. 

"I  afterwards  learned  that  the  song  had  been  previously  given  to 
the  world  through  a  Boston  music-publishing  house,  but  who  its  com- 
poser was  I  never  found  out.  But  the  sentiment  of  the  song  struck 
the  key-note  of  public  feeling,  and  it  came  into  almost  universal  de- 
mand. 

"One  thing  deserves,  nay  needs,  to  be  said  regarding  it.  And  that 
is  that  it  is  in  no  sense  a  comic  production,  notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  its  first  words  are  of  laughter,  and  that  most  singers  prefer  to 
give  it  a  flippant  and  comic  interpretation.  The  fact  remains  that  the 
song  itself  is  one  of  deepest  pathos,  and  of  sublime  aspiration.  Its 
subject  is  unlettered,  but  its  import  is  of  the  noblest  and  highest.  The 
old  man,  who  was  born  and  reared  a  slave,  is  suddenly  impressed  with 
the  thought  that  freedom  has  come  at  last:  that  his  children  are  his 
own  and  not  another's,  and  that  he  is  at  last  a  man  among  men,  that 
he  is  free!  And  he  exclaims  with  heartfelt  earnestness  and  enthu- 
siasm, *  Hail !  mighty  day ! ' 

"As  you  are  aware,  my  brother  Frank  and  myself  gave  ourselves  to 
the  rendering  of  patriotic  music  throughout  the  war,  and  the  enthu- 
siasm everywhere  enkindled  by  this  song  is  proof  of  its  merit,  and  of 
its  being  in  sympathy  with  the  sentiment  of  the  time.  But  it  has  been 
belittled,  and  rendered  almost  contemptible,  by  the  attempts  of  false 
interpreters  to  turn  it  into  jest  and  a  subject  of  merriment.  The 
words  already  quoted,  '  Hail !  mighty  day ! '  are  as  lofty  and  trenchant 
as  those  of  that  other  heaven-pointing  refrain,  'Give  me  liberty,  or 

give  me  death.* 

"Ever  sincerely  yours, 

"J.  G.  LUMBARD.** 

THE   SONG 

Here  is  the  song  with  which  the  name  of  Frank  Lum- 
bard  is  so  intimately  associated : 

"OLE    SHADY" 
"Oh!  yah,  yah!  darkies,  laugh  wid  me! 
For  de  white  folks  say  Ole  Shady  am  free. 
So  don't  you  see  dat  de  Jubilee 
Am  a-comin*,  comin' ,''  —  Hail !  mighty  day ! 


126  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

Chorus: 

"Den  away,  away,  for  I  can't  stay  any  longer; 
Hooray !  Hooray !  for  I 's  a-gwine  home ! 
Den  away,  away,  for  I  can't  wait  any  longer; 
Hooray!  Hooray!  for  I's  a-gwine  home! 

"Ole  Mas'  got  scared,  an'  so  did  his  lady, 
Dis  chile  he  break  for  Ole  Uncle  Aby. 
Open  de  gates !  for  here  's  Ole  Shady 
A-comin',  comin*!  —  Hail!  mighty  day! 

"Good-bye,  Mas*  Jeff  and  good-bye,  Mas'  Stephens. 
Scuse  dis  niggah  for  takin'  his  leabings; 
Spect  pretty  soon  you  '11  hear  Uncle  Abram  's 
A-comin',  comin' !  —  Hail !  mighty  day ! 

"Good-bye,  hard  work,  wid  neber  any  pay; 
I 's  a-gwine  up  Norf,  wha'r  de  good  folks  say 
Dat  white  wheat  bread  an'  a  dollar  a  day 
Am  a-comin',  comin' !  —  Hail !  mighty  day ! 

"Oh!  I's  got  a  wife,  and  she'm  got  a  baby. 
Way  up  Norf  in  Lower  Canady ; 
Oh!  won't  dey  laugh  when  dey  see  Ole  Shady 
A-comin',  comin' !  —  Hail !  mighty  day ! 

Chorus: 

"Den  away,  away,  for  I  can't  stay  any  longer; 
Hooray!  Hooray!  for  I's  a-gwine  home! 
Den  away,  away,  for  I  can't  wait  any  longer; 
Hooray !  Hooray !  for  I 's  a-gwine  home ! " 

Who  that  heard  Frank  sing  this  song  in  the  war  days 
can  ever  forget  the  heart-bursting  triumph  with  which 
he  rose  to  — 

"Open  de  gates  for  here  's  Ole  Shady 
A-comin',  comin' !  —  Hail !  mighty  day ! " 

In  the  war  days  the  quartette  was  composed  of  Frank 
Lumbard,  first  tenor ;  John  Rickey,  second  tenor ;  Charles 
Smith,  alto;  and  Jules  Lumbard,  basso.    Later  John  M. 


THE   PART   OF  THE  SINGERS  127 

Hubbard,  who  is  still  in  a  responsible  position  in  the  Chi- 
cago Post  Office,  took  the  basso  part. 

FRANK    LUMBARD's    UNSELFISHNESS 

Frank  Lumbard,  however  hard  pressed,  was  never  a 
mercenary,  singing  merely  for  hire.  When  in  after  years 
the  war-time  singer  attuned  himself  to  the  exigencies  of 
political  campaigning  —  the  work  in  which  he  is  now  best 
remembered  by  the  many  —  he  still  held  his  talent  in  trust 
to  support  his  political  convictions,  and  under  no  circum- 
stances could  a  money  consideration  influence  him  to  sing 
for  "the  other  side."  To  the  last  he  was  true  to  his  po- 
litical colors,  which  to  his  mind  were  identical  with  "Old 
Glory";  and  I  trust  that  the  flag  he  so  loved,  and  which 
through  his  inspiring  celebrations  was  made  doubly  pre- 
cious to  so  many  of  his  countrymen,  became  his  winding 
sheet. 

It  was  in  1882  that  Frank  Lumbard  died.  It  would 
have  been  pleasant  to  recall  that  his  country,  to  the  pres- 
ervation of  which  he  so  efficiently  gave  the  best  years  of 
his  life,  made  suitable  provision  for  himself  and  family 
when  a  last  lingering  illness  came  upon  him ;  or  that  some 
of  the  many  whom  by  his  voice  he  helped  to  rich  pohtical 
rewards,  had  fittingly  remembered  their  obligation.  Frank 
Lumbard  was  a  man  who  freely  spent  himself  for  others, 
with  little  regard  for  his  own  interests;  and  so  his  chief 
legacy  is  a  memory  worthy  to  be  cherished  by  every  lover 
of  our  reunited  country. 


THE  UNDERWORLD 

Professional  Gambling  in  the  Early  Sixties  —  An  Influx  of 
Blacklegs  from  the  South  —  They  Give  a  "Rebel"  Coloring 
TO  Down-Town  Life  —  The  "Sport"  of  Every  Sort  in  Those 
Days  an  "Outcast"  —  Is  He  Now  "One  of  Us"?  —  The  Per- 
nicious Influence  of  This  Class  on  the  Young  —  Lack  of 
Legitimate  Amusements  —  Striking  Contrast  in  the  Social 
Life  between  Then  and  Now  —  The  "War  Widow"  —  The 
Bounty-Jumper. 

PROFESSIONAL  gambling,  by  a  class  frankly 
branded  "blacklegs"  —  a  term  of  reprobation  now 
far  less  in  common  use  —  was  exploited  in  war-time 
Chicago  largely  by  Southerners.  Indeed,  if  the  Garden 
City  of  the  early  sixties  could  in  any  respect  be  called 
"fast,"  it  was  this  contingent  that  supplied  the  speed;  for 
the  mass  of  the  people,  brought  together  from  staid  New 
England  or  York  State,  Germany,  Ireland,  or  Scandi- 
navia, found  the  fullest  scope  for  their  gaming  propensities 
in  real-estate  options,  with  at  most  an  occasional  "flyer" 
on  the  Board  of  Trade,  —  which  "pit  of  iniquity,"  like  the 
dramatic  stage  of  the  period,  was  still  devoted  to  the 
"strictly  legitimate." 

The  gambler  of  those  days  was  a  "sport"  even  in  a 
Darwinian  sense:  a  marked  variation  from  the  normal. 
Society  had  not  yet  followed  him  into  the  betting  ring,  and 
he  differentiated  himself  from  his  more  humble  fellow- 
citizens  both  by  his  toggery  and  demeanor.  His  was  usu- 
ally a  striking  figure,  and  he  "banked"  heavily  on  his 
shape.     When  not   an  out-and-out  swashbuckler,   your 

128 


THE  UNDERWORLD  129 

thoroughbred  was  apt  to  go  to  the  opposite  extreme,  and 
draw  attention  to  himself  by  a  studied  nonchalance.  In 
dress  he  might  follow  the  latest  or  the  loudest  fashion, 
affect  the  brass-buttoned  claw-hammer  of  a  former  genera- 
tion, or  slosh  around  in  the  fantastic  gear  of  a  "  plainsman" 
—  since  evolved  into  the  "cowboy-hero"  of  classic  story. 
But,  however  arrayed,  your  gambler  was  never  other  than 
a  picturesque  poseur,  invariably  "on  the  mash," — a  pas- 
time at  which  he  was  ably  seconded  by  another  unique 
species,  yclept  "burnt-cork  artist,"  a  bunch  of  whom,  when 
not  on  exhibition  at  Metropolitan  Hall,  usually  vied  with 
the  blackleg  in  giving  "color"  to  the  panorama  of  the 
street. 

Few  social  phenomena  are  more  worthy  of  attention 
than  the  drift  in  these  days  from  old-time  meanings,  as  well 
as  moorings,  with  respect  to  what  is  broadly  termed 
"sport."  Once  the  gamester  was  a  social  pariah.  Is  it 
going  too  far  to  say  he  is  now  "one  of  us"?  When  an 
"outcast,"  he  took  every  pains  to  emphasize  his  shame. 
To-day,  he  finds  himself  an  undifferentiated  unit  of  the 
"madding  crowd," —  as  likely  as  not  is  a  recognized  leader 
in  high  finance ;  and,  unable  to  distinguish  himself  morally 
from  so  many  of  his  esteemed  fellow-citizens,  he  no  longer 
deems  it  worth  his  while  to  maintain  the  external  dis- 
tinctions of  his  whilom  caste. 

AN   INFLUX   OF   BLACKLEGS   FROM   THE   SOUTH 

It  was  largely  owing  to  the  influx  from  the  South  that 
"sport"  assumed  a  quite  alien  face  in  the  Chicago  of  the 
early  sixties,  and  played  so  conspicuous  a  part  in  the  city's 
kaleidoscopic  life.  The  swarthy,  long-haired  blackleg  of 
the  Lower  Mississippi  —  acknowledged  as  facile  prince ps 
of  the  profession,  and  affecting  the  manners  of  his  favorite 


130  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

old-time  victim,  the  high-rolling,  slave-owning  planter  — 
invaded  Chicago  at  the  outbreak  of  hostilities  in  such 
numbers  that  he  constituted  an  element  to  be  reckoned 
with.  Rebel  to  the  core  —  though  without  hankerings  for 
the  hardships  of  army  hfe — he  was  insolent  to  the  point  of 
defiance ;  and,  in  every  situation  wherein  his  world  played 
a  part,  invariably  held  the  middle  of  the  stage.  This 
element,  so  numerous,  and  so  offensively  in  evidence  by 
its  blatant  secession  talk,  not  only  worked  up  a  good  deal 
of  Southern  sympathy  among  the  unthinking  younger  gen- 
eration about  town,  but  went  far  in  giving  the  impression 
that  Chicago  was  a  hotbed  of  disaffection.  Indeed,  so  far 
did  this  Southern  gambling  influence  extend,  that  of  all  the 
resorts  for  men-about-town,  the  Tremont  House,  under 
the  loyal  wing  of  mine  host  John  B.  Drake,  was  about 
the  only  place  where  one  invariably  heard  outspoken  Union 
sentiment.  And  while  there  was  among  all  classes  (the 
German  element  excepted)  a  goodly  number  with  more  or 
less  avowed  Southern  sympathies,  it  was  the  gambler,  in 
close  touch  with  his  kind  in  the  South,  who  above  all  gave 
an  extraordinarily  aggressive  tone  to  the  local  opposition 
to  the  war,  and  was  the  moving  spirit  in  the  organization 
of  Lodges  of  Knights  of  the  Golden  Circle. 

THEY   FIND   MANY   FOU.OWERS   AMONG   YOUNG    MEN 

In  those  days  the  downtown  night  life  was  peculiarly 
indigenous;  whereas  the  multitudes  that  to-day  fill  the 
skyscrapers,  when  the  day's  work  is  done  scatter  hither  and 
yon  by  rapid  transit.  Most  young  men  without  local  fam- 
ily ties  lived  within,  or  immediately  contiguous  to,  the 
business  section.  The  upper  parts  of  nearly  all  commercial 
buildings  —  unfit  for  business  because  of  the  absence  of 
elevators  —  were  occupied  by  "roomers";  while  all  that 


THE  UNDERWORLD  131 

part  between  Madison  and  Van  Buren  Streets,  east  of 
Clark,  was  devoted  almost  wholly  to  boarding-houses. 

It  was  this  state  of  things  that  gave  such  an  air  of  liveli- 
ness to  " downtown"  at  night.  It  made  all  of  us,  that  were 
foot-free,  literally  "Johnnies-on-the-spot"  all  the  time; 
and  it  was  this  intimate  and  peculiar  community  life,  un- 
modified by  anything  like  home  influences,  that  gave  the 
gambler  his  opportunity  to  play  a  dominant  role.  In  the 
eyes  of  most  unattached  masculinity,  the  "sport"  with 
Lower  Mississippi  River  antecedents  was  a  prodigious 
personage,  whose  sayings  and  doings  formed  a  leading 
topic  at  every  rendezvous.  He  was  particularly  catered  to 
at  all  but  the  most  exclusive  resorts,  and  it  was  an  off -night 
when  he  failed  to  supply  a  batch  of  racy  news  items. 

The  average  young  man  of  half  a  century  ago,  as  com- 
pared with  his  kind  to-day,  was  easily  impressed  by  ex- 
ternals ;  and  as  in  the  downtown  night  life  it  was  invariably 
the  gambler  on  whom  the  lime  light  centred,  it  is  small 
wonder  that  our  "Johnnie"  fell  an  easy  victim  to  the 
glamour  of  the  extravaganza  in  which  this  pinchbeck  cav- 
alier was  ever  the  acclaimed  hero.  A  veritable  night-hawk, 
the  blackleg  was  seldom  on  view  until  well  along  in  the 
afternoon,  and  then  only  to  do  a  "stunt"  at  sidewalk 
"mashing."  The  silly  caramel  girl,  in  her  matinee  finery, 
had  as  yet  no  existence,  for  the  matinee  itself  awaited  intro- 
duction. No,  when  in  those  days  you  caught  the  flash  of 
an  eye  from  under  some  milliner's  "dream,"  you  made  no 
mistake  in  assigning  the  wearer  to  the  "  red-light "  district ; 
for  the  approved  street  costume  of  the  period  was  exceed- 
ingly quiet,  and  a  "symphony  in  color,"  such  as  may  now 
without  comment  be  displayed  by  the  demurest  maiden, 
was  in  those  days  an  unmistakable  class  signal,  and  vastly 
in  afternoon-promenade  evidence. 


132  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

PAUCITY   OF  EESORTS   AND   AMUSEMENTS   IN   THE   EARLY 

SIXTIES 

No  picture  of  downtown  street  life  in  the  early  sixties 
would  be  in  any  manner  a  true  reflex  that  failed  to  show  in 
high  relief  the  part  played  by  the  Underworld  —  which 
for  the  nonce  might  well  be  called  the  Upperworld:  for 
was  it  not  literally  on  top?  Even  had  it  not  so  flagrantly 
challenged  the  eye  —  the  men  aggressively  swagger,  the 
women  flaringly  spectacular  —  it  would  still  have  attracted 
large  attention,  because  of  the  absence  of  other  "goings- 
on"  to  divide  interest  with  it.  A  process  of  elimination 
from  the  present-day  showing  of  any  American  city  of  say 
two  hundred  thousand  inhabitants  (about  Chicago's  ag- 
gregate at  the  close  of  the  war)  will  readily  make  this  plain. 
There  was  only  one  permanent  place  of  amusement,  where 
to-day  (apportioned  to  same  population)  there  are  half  a 
score  of  various  sorts,  and  more  or  less  "continuous." 
There  were  no  race  meetings  to  bulk  the  pygmy  jockey 
into  a  Goliath  of  popularity;  no  ring  contests  to  beat  the 
"bruiser"  into  pulpy  notoriety;  no  professional  baseball 
to  apotheosize  the  doubly-twisted  "twirler";  no  football 
contests  to  crown  with  bay  or  laurel  the  buttressed 
"centre,"  rock-rooted  "fullback,"  or  foot-winged  "rusher" ; 
no  rowing  matches  to  distinguish  the  "stroke"  above  his 
fellows;  unheard  of,  and  certainly  unplayed,  were  such 
diversions  as  polo,  golf,  tennis,  cricket,  lacrosse,  hockey, 
hand-ball,  basket-ball,  and  even  innocuous  croquet;  no 
such  objects  of  adoration  as  champion  pedestrians,  long- 
distance runners,  spindle-shanked  sprinters,  high- jumpers, 
vaulters,  weight-putters,  or  other  fame- devouring  athletes ; 
no  record-  or  neck-breaking  cyclists ;  no  death-courting  or 
death-dealing  chauffeurs;  surely  no  sun-soaring  aviators; 
and  not  even  a  billiard  champion,  until  some  years  later, 


THE  UNDERWORLD  1S3 

when  my  old  friend,  genial  Tom  Foley,  won  that  distinc- 
tion at  the  first  State  tournament.  There  was  not  a  club 
in  the  whole  city  for  a  quiet  "sit-in";  no  horse,  dog,  poul- 
try, or  flower  shows;  no  skating-rinks;  indeed,  no  popular 
pastimes  of  any  sort;  while  even  the  picturesque  red-shirt 
lads,  who  but  a  few  years  before  had  "run  wid  de  masheen" 
and  finished  every  fire  with  a  free,  all-round  fight,  had  been 
summarily  abolished.  So  it  only  remains  to  mention 
McVicker's  Theatre,  home  of  the  tragic  muse,  for  a 
"steady,"  with  an  occasional  variation  of  circus  or  minstrel 
troupe.  In  these  circumstances,  is  it  matter  for  wonder 
that  in  the  "whirl  of  the  town,"  the  men  and  women  of  the 
Underworld  were  the  unchallenged  top-liners?  And  while 
the  shame  thus  flaunted  no  doubt  acted  as  a  deterrent  on 
the  many,  on  more  than  a  few  the  gay  plumage  permitted 
only  to  those  who  threaded  the  "primrose  path  of  dal- 
liance," exerted  a  baleful  fascination. 

EFFECTS   OF   THE   GREAT   OUTPUT   OF   GREENBACKS 

During  the  first  year  or  two  of  the  war  money  was 
extremely  scarce.  After  that,  through  the  steady  output 
of  greenbacks,  this  circulating  medium  reached  demoraliz- 
ing proportions,  and,  with  the  premium  on  gold,  prices  rose 
by  leaps  and  bounds.  This  brings  us  to  the  period  when, 
almost  in  a  night,  the  centuries-old  order  changed  into  the 
new,  in  which  we  now  live,  move,  and  have  our  high- 
pressure  being.  Enter  the  regime  of  which  the  shoddy 
millionaire  is  the  finest  flower;  and  from  top  to  bottom 
there  goes  forward  a  steady  demoralization  of  the  com- 
munity, through  all  manner  of  sordid  and  malign  influ- 
ences. The  tremendous  industrial  activity  that  had  been 
stimulated  to  supply  our  vast  armies  in  far  Southern  fields 
was  continued  immediately  after  the  war  by  such  schemes 


134  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

as  the  building  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad :  and  thus  on 
top  of  the  army-contract  scandals  came  those  of  the  Credit 
Mobilier  —  all,  however,  mere  indices  of  the  general  state 
of  the  body  social.  But  this,  for  the  present,  is  taking  us 
too  far  afield. 

The  early  spontaneous  enlistments  were  largely  of  the 
foot-free,  bolder  spirits,  the  country's  natural  fighting 
blood.  Later,  as  call  followed  call,  more  married  men  came 
to  the  fore,  as  the  large  bounties  (to  which  were  often 
added  generous  provision  by  communities)  promised  to 
secure  those  dependent  on  them  against  want.  How  this 
drain  upon  the  conserving  forces  of  society  tended  to 
weaken  the  defences  that  make  for  continence  need  scarcely 
be  emphasized.  And  even  while  husbands  made  their  exits, 
there  entered  upon  the  scene  numbers  on  sick-leave  or  other 
form  of  furlough;  and  later,  thousands  whose  enlistment 
had  expired  —  devil-may-care  fellows,  with  bulging  pock- 
ets, determined  to  "paint  the  town";  and,  while  many  will 
eventually  reenlist,  such  a  thing  is,  of  course,  quite  un- 
thinkable so  long  as  there  remains  a  desire  ungratified  or  a 
greenback  to  squander.  Not  only  were  the  authorities  ex- 
ceptionally indulgent  toward  folk  of  this  sort,  but,  with  a 
hope  of  hastening  their  return  to  the  firing  line,  they  rather 
encouraged  them  to  fling  their  money  about ;  and  the  man- 
ner in  which  they  paraded  their  bedizened  jades  in  open 
barouches,  and  frequently  in  processions,  was  rivalled  only, 
as  a  street  attraction,  by  the  "grand  entrance"  of  a  circus. 

THE   "war   widow" 

About  this  time  there  came  into  common  use  the  term 
"war  widow,"  to  denote  a  species  of  frailty  quite  unknown 
before.  When  the  modern  Ulysses  went  forth  to  battle, 
his  Penelope,  it  is  to  be  feared,  did  not  always  rise  to  the 


THE  UNDERWORLD  135 

possibilities  of  her  self-denying  opportunities,  —  neither 
wove  by  day  nor  undid  by  night,  unneeded  webs  against 
the  importunities  of  unwelcome  suitors;  nor  yet  devoted 
herself  wholly  to  keeping  the  hearth  swept  in  readiness  for 
her  hero's  return.  No,  in  only  too  many  instances  (espe- 
cially in  the  absence  of  the  restraining  influence  of  chil- 
dren) the  spouse,  if  still  young  and  moderately  fair  to  look 
upon,  made  undue  haste  to  invest  her  "substitute"  hoard 
in  finery  for  the  street,  approaching  ever  nearer  in  her  un- 
restraint to  the  devotees  of  pleasure.  From  this  it  resulted 
that  outlying  abodes  were  exchanged  for  "light  house- 
keeping" accommodations  on  the  upper  floors  of  business 
blocks,  hitherto  consecrate  to  guileless  masculinity.  And 
so  it  came  about  that  an  evil  theretofore  strictly  confined  to 
"establishments"  apart,  intruded  free-lance  fashion  wher- 
ever it  might  find  domiciliary  tolerance.  Prior  to  the 
irruption  of  the  "war  widow,"  spiders  of  her  variety  had 
spread  their  gaudy  nets  only  in  the  light  of  day  —  as  part 
of  "Vanity  Fair,"  and  with  an  ulterior  eye  only  to  possible 
entanglements  of  over-curious  "flies."  But  now,  in  the  full 
adornment  of  war  paint,  the  "bereaved"  went  obtrusively 
forth  to  seek  her  prey  under  the  gaslight;  and,  in  an  in- 
credibly short  time  this  evil  grew  to  such  proportions  that 
the  police  were  compelled  to  take  cognizance  of  it.  There- 
after frequent  perfunctory  "clean-ups"  followed,  and  the 
"widow,"  with  or  without  a  war  record,  became  an  es- 
tablished police-court  habitue. 

THE   BOUNTY- JUMPER 

To  the  degree  —  though  with  differing  motive  —  that 
the  family  man  was  moved  by  exceptional  monetary  in- 
ducements (in  some  cases  rising  above  $1,500)  to  shoulder 
a  musket,  the  chronic  loafer  and  general  vagabond  also 


1S6  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

succumbed  to  the  temptation  to  enlist,  but  seldom  with 
any  thought  of  making  a  target  of  himself.  As  in  days 
before  the  war  there  was  an  "Underground  Railroad"  to 
help  runaway  slaves  across  the  border,  so  in  these  draft- 
and-substitute  times,  was  there  something  of  a  like  nature 
to  aid  the  bounty- jumper  —  for  a  consideration.  The 
looseness  with  which  things  were  managed  for  Uncle  Sam 
was  most  amazing;  and  there  is  little  doubt  that  in  many 
instances  recruiting  officers  "stood  in"  with  the  gang,  for 
only  the  most  perfunctory  precautions  were  taken  to  hold 
"substitutes"  to  their  obligations.  In  Chicago  the  scheme 
was  largely  engineered  by  a  coterie  of  Southern  gamblers, 
who,  besides  getting  a  large  "rake-off,"  no  doubt  felt  they 
were  loyally  serving  their  cause.  Hence,  while  the  leaders 
remained  flagrantly  in  evidence,  any  one  familiar  with  the 
ins  and  outs  of  their  entourage  could  not  fail  at  this  time 
to  note  a  remarkable  absence  of  pickpockets,  sneak-thieves, 
and  gambling-house  hangers-on  generally;  and  it  was  an 
open  secret  that  they  had  found  it  profitable  to  take  a  vaca- 
tion in  Canada.  However,  long  before  the  close  of  the 
war  —  indeed,  as  soon  as  the  draft  excitement  was  over  — 
they  were  again  in  evidence  at  their  old  haunts,  and  not  a 
mother's  son  of  them  was  ever  brought  to  book.  At  this 
distance  the  war  time  is  apt  to  be  regarded  as  one  of  hero- 
isms only.  Yet  it  was  the  seamy  and  sordid  side  * —  the  face 
distorted  by  lust  and  passion  —  that  most  insistently 
forced  itself  on  the  observer's  attention. 

ADMISSION   OF  GAMBLEES    INTO    PRESENT-DAY    SOCIETY 

Yes,  "sport"  was  distinctly  professional  in  the  Chicago 
of  the  early  sixties.  There  was  socially  as  yet  no  "fast  set," 
or  even  a  "smart  set,"  to  give  the  term  a  more  generic 
meaning.    There  were  "sporting  men"  surely  enough,  and 


THE  UNDERWORLD  137 

"sporting  women"  to  spare,  but  all  were  of  a  piece,  and 
frankly  immoral.  The  present-day  differentiation  into 
various  sporting  strata,  that  make  bewilderingly  close 
touch,  and  fairly  run  into  and  over  each  other,  until  none 
can  tell  where  the  social  status  of  some  people  begins  or 
that  of  others  ends  —  whether  to  class  them  among  the 
elect  or  the  "reject,"  as  pillars  of  church  and  society  or 
professional  gamblers  —  had  as  yet  no  existence,  and  so 
presented  no  problem. 

The  gambler  in  those  days  was  as  to  many  things  a 
somewhat  fastidious  dilettante,  and  especially  so  in  his  re- 
lation to  "practical"  politics;  now  he  is  most  likely  a  ward 
or  city  boss,  owns  a  racing  stable,  and  occasionally  seeks 
diversion  by  cornering  the  market.  To-day,  also,  your  big 
gambler  is  apt  to  be  an  evolution  from  the  spawn  of  the 
purlieus,  whereas  in  those  days  he  was  frequently  an  effect 
of  social  devolution  —  was  the  degenerate  scion  of  some 
noble  sire,  —  and  prided  himself  on  his  blood.  Many  a 
one,  had  he  chosen  another  way,  might  have  risen  to  honor- 
able distinction  in  the  world  at  large ;  in  his  particular 
sphere  he  was  a  leader  anyhow,  vnth  all  that  a  distinction 
in  such  circumstances  implies  in  the  way  of  followers, 
rivalries,  and  sanguinary  encounters.  More  than  one 
among  these  "king  pins"  approximated  to  the  Jack 
Hamlin  and  John  Oakhurst  type,  and  were  idealized  (not 
to  say  idolized)  in  quite  the  Bret  Harte  fashion  by  that 
large  contingent  whose  standards  were  formed  on  the  ex- 
amples offered  by  writers  of  the  Ned  Bimtline  variety. 


THE  UNDERWORLD   (Continued) 

Two  Notorious  Gamesters  —  Women  Who  Kept  "Establishments" 
—  Murder  of  a  Gambler  by  His  Paramour  —  The  Wedding  of 
"Cap"  Hyman — Opening  of  Sunnyside  as  a  Highly  Moral 
Road-House  —  The  Class  of  "Ladies"  Who  were  Present  — 
Punctilious  Decorum  before  Supper  —  Later  a  Champagne 
Revel. 

FROM  among  the  many  who  rose  to  a  bad  eminence, 
two  stood  out  conspicuously  on  several  accounts,  but 
chiefly  because  they  kept  things  on  the  jump  by  a 
practice  known  in  modern  vernacular  as  "shooting  up  the 
town."  One  —  and  he  offender  in  chief  —  was  "Cap." 
Hyman,  and  the  other  George  Trussell.  Both  kept  their 
pocket  artillery  ever  in  a  hair-trigger  state  of  readiness; 
but,  undoubtedlj^  owing  to  poor  marksmanship  (under  the 
somewhat  common  illusion  characterized  as  "seeing  dou- 
ble") ,  neither  ever  killed  anybody,  if  the  mortuary  returns 
may  be  trusted.  Trussell,  when  sober,  was  a  man  of  few 
words  —  indeed,  a  very  sphinx  of  taciturnity.  Hyman,  on 
the  other  hand,  was  an  excitable,  emotional  jack-in-the- 
box.  It  was  only  when  in  liquor  that  Trussell  burst  his 
shell,  and  got  ugly  and  dangerous.  He  was  tall,  straight 
as  an  arrow,  and  might  have  stood  as  model  for  one  of 
Remington's  Indian-fighting  cavalry  officers.  As  a  game- 
ster he  was  top-sawyer  among  the  "highest  rollers,"  with  a 
record  of  many  broken  "banks"  to  his  credit.  His  pet 
aversion  was  Hyman;  and,  when  it  happened  that  both 
were  sampling  Randolph  Street  under  full  sail  at  the  same 
time,  everybody  about  was  on  the  qui  vive  for  something  to 

138 


THE  UNDERWORLD  139 

happen.  It  came  more  than  once  to  an  exchange  of  shots, 
but,  unfortunately,  only  projecting  signs  were  damaged. 
Hyman  was  an  insufferable  egotist,  and  his  irascible 
temper  was  forever  getting  the  whole  street  into  trouble. 
Again  and  again,  after  some  ineffectual  target  practice  on 
his  part,  the  press  would  read  the  riot  act  to  the  authorities, 

—  a  proceeding  which  now  and  again  resulted  in  a  general 
"shake-up,"  but  seldom  until  the  valiant  "Cap."  had  found 
it  convenient  to  absent  himself  for  a  month  or  two  on  im- 
portant business. 

WOMEN    WHO    KEPT   "ESTABLISHMENTS" 

It  was  the  vogue  of  the  period  for  the  gambling  chiefs 
to  have  for  consorts  the  most  notorious  keepers  of  "estab- 
lishments." There  seemed  under  the  circumstances  a 
peculiar  fitness  in  this  arrangement, —  a  veritable  triumph 
for  the  law  of  natural  selection,  —  and  because  of  this  con- 
nection, and  the  large  publicity  given  to  occasional  "pulls" 
( always  made  as  spectacular  as  possible  on  the  part  of  the 
police),  these  "Madams"  were  the  tavern  talk  from  the 
lakes  to  the  Rockies.  While  people  of  this  sort  were  in 
part  conspicuous  because  of  the  flatness  of  life  in  general, 
it  yet  remains  to  be  said  that  some  of  these  Aspasias  were 
rather  uncommon  characters,  in  a  way  quite  resembling 
their  Athenian  sisters,  —  if  only  in  the  frequency  with 
which  they  entertained  statesmen  of  high  degree.  And 
though  their  doings  might  fall  short  of  "pointing  a  moral," 
their  sayings  seldom  failed  to  "adorn  a  tale,"  or  enrich  the 
vocabulary  of  the  street,  while  more  than  one  was  credited 

—  quite  after  the  fashion  of  present-day  multi-millionaires 

—  with  attempts  to  mollify  good  St.  Peter  with  phil- 
anthropic bestowals  of  their  "tainted"  lucre.  If  any  in 
similar  wise  now  fills  the  eyes  of  the  vulgar,  it  is  that 


140  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

modern  tragedienne  in  real  life,  the  "Florodora  girl,"  — 
though  sensationalism  is  now  so  general  that  no  class  or 
form  of  exploitation  may  claim  a  monopoly. 

Indeed,  in  quite  the  fashion  that  the  gambler  now  per- 
meates various  strata  of  society,  so  his  frail  counterpart 
assumes  many  roles  formerly  not  open  to  her.  In  those 
days  there  were  no  gradations  of  descent  —  no  experi- 
mental stages,  as  one  might  say,  for  possible  ascents  to 
giddy  heights  in  millionaire  mistressdom;  no  snug  secre- 
taryships, or  alluring  opportunities  afforded  by  the  en- 
chantments of  the  chorus.  No,  a  single  false  step  pre- 
cipitated the  victim  straight  into  the  depths;  and  this 
explains  why  the  "lady  boarders"  of  Madam's  sumptuous 
establishment  often  played  so  conspicuous  a  part  in  the 
rather  commonplace  drama  of  the  period.  It  also  makes 
plain, —  because  of  the  eliminations  by  selection  for  "light 
housekeeping"  that  nowadays  go  forward  in  the  process 
of  descent, —  why  the  present-day  Magdalen,  per  police- 
court  exhibit,  is  seldom  other  than  a  repulsive  residuum. 
Society,  as  a  censor  of  morals,  occupied  itself  with 
no  fine-spun  distinctions  half  a  century  ago.  It  knew 
only  good  and  bad.  Hence  that  very  considerable  male 
contingent,  —  now  more  or  less  within  its  pale,  which  is 
distinguished  as  the  "fast  set," —  though  outwardly  held  in 
strong  leash  to  social  convenances,  would  yet  covertly  as- 
sociate where  it  could  enjoy  a  fling  for  its  money;  and, 
accordingly,  the  upper  crust  of  the  demi-world  occupied 
an  influential  position  toward  this  not  inconsiderable  social 
increment  that  had  to  be  reckoned  with.  All  that  is  now 
known  as  "gentleman's  sport,"  nay,  proclaimed  as  the 
"sport  of  kings,"  was  then  socially  tabooed,  along  with  all 
forms  of  gambling,  and  so  received  open  support  only  from 
professional  gamblers.    Hence,  much  that  now  finds  op- 


THE  UNDERWORLD  141 

portunity  for  exploitation  under  the  wing  of  eminent 
respectability,  was  then  unqualifiedly  condemned,  and 
found  a  congenial  atmosphere  only  in  the  gilded  salon. 

MUEDEB   OF  A   GAMBLEE   BY    HIS   PAEAMOUE 

After  the  war,  when  the  sporting  bars  began  to  come 
down,  it  was  none  other  than  George  Trussell,  thorough- 
bred gambler  and  managing  owner  of  Dexter,  the 
"record"  trotting  horse  of  its  day,  who  led  the  racing 
cohorts  of  Chicago.  And  additional  light  is  shed  on  the 
status  of  the  race  track  as  a  means  to  amusement  at  that 
time,  when  it  is  added  that  in  less  than  a  month  after  the 
tragic  end  of  Trussell  at  the  hands  of  his  "Mollie," 
McKeever,  the  gallant  owner  of  the  horse  General  Butler, 
was  done  to  death  in  a  foul  attempt  to  prevent  him  from 
winning  from  the  horse  Cooley,  a  tragedy  that  closed  the 
gates  of  the  but  recently  opened  Chicago  Driving  Park. 
When,  however,  the  following  year,  a  new  course  was 
opened,  it  was  significantly  named  for  the  horse  once 
owned  by  George  Trussell  —  Dexter  Park. 

The  date  is  September  3,  1866.  The  horse  Dexter, 
record-holder  for  trotting  speed,  and  but  recently  acquired 
by  George  Trussell,  had  made  its  first  appearance  under 
the  new  ownership,  and  there  was  great  rejoicing  among 
the  habitues  of  Randolph  Street,  with  whom  Trussell  was 
a  prime  favorite.  Mistress  Mollie,  in  a  barouche,  sur- 
rounded by  a  bevy  of  ladies-in-waiting  under  a  rainbow- 
hued  canopy  of  sunshades,  had  been  the  particular  centre 
of  attraction  within  the  oval.  At  the  close  of  the  races 
George  had  solemnly  promised  "to  be  home  early,"  and 
preside  at  a  little  dinner  to  be  given  a  select  company  of 
swell  patrons.  But,  probably  because  so  many  wanted  to 
congratulate  him  on  his  new  acquisition,  he  failed  to  put 


142  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

in  an  appearance,  and  horrible  visions  of  faithlessness 
crossed  Mistress  MoUie's  champagne-befuddled  brain. 
Then  it  came  over  her  that  it  was  about  time  an  example 
was  made  in  behalf  of  her  too  confiding  sex,  of  a  stay-out- 
late;  and  she  took  pains  to  equip  herself,  so  that  the  new 
household  ordinance,  then  and  there  to  go  into  effect, 
might  be  properly  enforced. 

The  Times  newspaper  was  then  published  on  Ran- 
dolph Street,  in  the  very  centre  of  the  "hair-trigger  block," 
between  Dearborn  and  State  Streets.  The  report  of  fire- 
arms was  a  happening  so  common,  especially  at  night,  as  to 
create  no  special  flurry  among  us;  and  hence,  when  close 
on  midnight,  a  shot  was  heard,  the  city  editor  remarked  to 
me  quite  casually  (for  I  was  before  all  "shooting"  re- 
porter), "Guess  Cap.  Hyman  is  out  for  practice;  better 
look  into  it."  When,  however,  a  moment  later  the  sharp 
report  was  followed  by  a  succession  of  piercing  screams, 
obviously  feminine,  the  entire  reportorial  outfit  came  to  its 
feet  to  make  a  plunge  through  a  devious  passage  to  the 
Randolph  Street  entrance,  from  whence  men  could  be  seen 
rushing  from  all  sides  toward  Price's  livery  stable,  directly 
opposite,  a  bit  east  of  the  present  Colonial  Theatre.  Some 
one  shouted  to  us,  "Mollie  has  shot  George!"  and,  so 
intimately  had  the  principals  of  the  tragedy  been  associated 
with  the  day's  events,  that  the  affix  "Trussell"  followed  in 
our  minds  without  saying. 

Meanwhile  the  shrieks  continued,  and,  as  we  made  our 
way  through  the  crowd  (for  every  gambling  den  quickly 
had  emptied  itself),  we  beheld  a  woman  in  white  pros- 
trate over  a  man's  form  lying  within  the  wide  entrance  to 
the  stable.    And,  until  by  main  force  she  was  torn  from  the 


THE  UNDERWORLD  143 

body  of  her  dead  lover,  she  exclaimed  wildly,  between 
shrieks,  "George,  have  I  killed  you?  Have  I  killed  you?" 
Because  of  Trussell's  connection  with  the  horse  Dexter, 
the  tragedy  formed  a  leading  topic  for  many  weeks  from 
Maine  to  California.  And  now,  when  one  comes  to  think 
of  it,  we  were  not  so  very  old-fashioned  after  all  as  some 
might  believe  us;  for  "temporary  emotional  insanity"  was 
already  a  firmly  established  habit,  and  a  sensational  trial 
closed  with  the  best  up-to-date  denouement. 

THE   WEDDING   OF   "CAP."    HYMAN 

Whether  MoUie  was  really  married  to  the  man  whose 
name  she  bore  and  whose  life  she  took,  remains  a  moot 
question.  But  certain  it  is  that  "  Cap."  Hyman  —  Trussell 
being  out  of  the  way,  and  he  now  undisputed  cock  of  the 
walk  —  shortly  after  the  tragedy  took  to  wife  MoUie's 
most  ambitious  rival.  The  wedding  of  this  delectable  pair 
was  by  far  the  "swellest"  affair  witnessed  in  the  Garden 
City  up  to  that  time,  —  weddings  in  general  not  yet  rank- 
ing among  the  shows  of  the  town,  —  and,  along  with  a 
variety  of  local  male  and  female  celebrities,  was  attended 
by  a  galaxy  of  "sports"  of  both  sexes  from  St.  Louis, 
Cincinnati,  Louisville,  and  other  Southern  and  Western 
cities.  Conjointly  with  the  wedding  (which  signalized  the 
Madam's  going  out  of  one  business  and  into  another)  was 
the  opening  by  the  pair  of  "  Sunnyside,"  in  Lake  View,  as 
a  high-toned  road-house.  And  only  that  the  staid  dobbins 
of  the  period  had  a  way  of  shying  when  they  were  expected 
to  turn  in  for  baiting,  the  enterprise  might  have  proved  as 
great  a  financial,  as  it  was  an  unquestionable  "moral" 
success. 


144  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

OPENING  OF  SUNNYSIDE  AS  A  HIGHLY  MORAL  ROAD-HOUSE 

For  weeks  prior  to  the  Sunnyside  opening,  little  else 
was  talked  about  in  all  but  the  most  detached  circles ;  while 
the  "boys"  on  the  Board  of  Trade  would  have  it  that  it  was 
simply  useless  trying  to  do  business  until  this  affair  was 
well  oflp  their  hands.  The  guest  of  honor  was  Jack  Nelson, 
deputy  Superintendent  of  Police,  and  by  no  means  in  his 
official  capacity  as  a  keeper  of  the  peace ;  for  Sunnyside  — 
now  in  the  heart  of  the  north  division  —  at  that  time  lay 
as  distinctly  outside  of  his  bailiwick  as  Kamchatka.  Other 
officials  also  graced  the  occasion,  and  not  a  few  well-known 
men  of  business  with  a  tincture  of  "sport"  in  their  blood; 
but  without  exception  they  forgot  to  bring  their  wives. 
There  was,  however,  no  scarcity  of  "ladies"  —  the  bright 
particular  "Pearls"  and  "Rubies"  of  the  demi-world; 
and  while  decollete  was  still  under  social  taboo,  the  display 
of  charms  trespassed  perilously  on  present-day  opera-box 
prerogatives. 

There  had  been  a  heavy  fall  of  snow,  the  air  was  sharp, 
and  never  before  had  Chicago  witnessed  such  an  output  of 
sleighs,  all  speeding  northward  in  the  moonlight  to  the 
merry  jingle  of  bells.  The  town  in  those  days  was  well 
supplied  with  all  manner  of  outfits  on  runners,  as  sleighing 
parties  were  still  a  prime  form  of  diversion.  Besides  cut- 
ters of  various  styles  and  degrees,  there  were  a  number  of 
contraptions  capable  of  holding  a  dozen  or  more;  and  as 
those  were  days  when  the  finest  buffalo  robe  was  about  as 
cheap  as  a  common  horse  blanket,  it  was  a  luxury  — 
now  possible  only  to  multi-millionaires  —  to  let  the  cold 
winds  blow  while  one  snuggled  cosily  in  the  hospitable 
amplitude  of  such. 

Yes,  it  was  both  a  night  and  a  ride  to  remember !  Most 
members  of  the  gambling  guild  had  some  particular  fem- 


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THE  UNDERWORLD  145 

inine  ** friend"  (and,  if  of  rank,  perchance  Madam's  entire 
entourage)  to  look  after.  Accordingly,  this  kind  drove 
straight  from  various  "establishments"  to  their  goal.  But 
the  undetached  element,  which  formed  about  the  Board  of 
Trade  contingent,  gathered  in  force  at  the  Matteson 
House,  northwest  corner  of  Randolph  and  Dearborn 
Streets.  Shortly  after  eight  o'clock,  amid  a  fanfare  of 
horns,  and  the  chaff  and  "jolly"  of  a  great  crowd  gathered 
to  see  the  sight,  a  start  was  made  —  a  huge  four-horse, 
gondola-shaped  affair,  filled  from  prow  to  stern  with 
roistering  blades,  taking  the  lead.  As  each  mettle- 
some prancer  was  backed  by  a  set  of  musical  bells  (a  kind 
now  seldom  heard),  the  charming  tintinnabulation  excited 
the  liveliest  interest  all  along  the  route.  This,  after  cross- 
ing Clark  Street  bridge,  lay  along  La  Salle  Street  to  North 
Avenue,  thence  along  North  Clark  Street  through  Lake 
View  (still  a  separate  burg),  and  so  onward  to  brilliantly 
lighted  Sunnyside,  then  quite  new,  and,  somehow,  seeming 
to  my  younger  eyes  fully  twice  as  big  as  when  last  I  saw 
it,  after  more  than  forty  years,  in  its  sad  decrepitude. 

Hyman,  when  at  his  best,  made  a  capital  host.  He  was 
a  college  man,  had  enjoyed  excellent  social  advantages,  and 
did  the  honors  of  the  occasion  with  the  air  of  a  Ward 
McAllister.  Corralling  a  batch  of  moral  censors,  he  ad- 
dressed us  thus :  "I  would  like  you  gentlemen  of  the  press 
to  understand  that  this  affair  will  be  straight  to  the  wink 
of  an  eye-lash.  All  the  ladies  are  here  on  their  honor,  and 
Mrs.  Hyman  will  see  to  it  that  nothing  unseemly  takes 
place.  We  want  the  best  people  in  town  to  patronize 
Sunnyside,  and  will  make  them  welcome."  Mrs.  H.  cer- 
tainly did  her  best  to  make  everybody  feel  "at  home."  She 
was  a  good-natured  body,  a  bit  overplump  for  a  Hebe, 
and  as  to  face  a  very  counterpart  of  Adelina  Patti  in 
middle  life. 


146  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

The  company  after  its  kind  and  manner  was  certainly 
"select."  This  applies  especially  to  the  contingents  from 
various  Southern  cities,  the  men  whereof  were  usually 
credited  with  military  handles.  In  those  days,  at  any  rate, 
Southerners  were  frankly  sporty. 

THE   CLASS   OF   "  LADIES "    WHO   WERE   PRESENT 

While  the  male  guests  bidden  to  the  Sunny  side  opening 
gave  one  an  impression  of  dominance,  it  was  plain  that 
those  of  the  opposite  sex  had  been  culled  largely  with  an 
eye  to  abundant  physical  charms,  now  and  then  somewhat 
marred  by  overmuch  "make-up."  More  than  a  few  had 
evidently  in  fairer  days  enjoyed  some  social  advantages, 
and  these  carried  off  their  "honor"  role  with  a  manner 
quite  natural,  if  occasionally  punctuated  by  little  touches 
of  diablerie.  But  where  the  charms  were  solely  physical, 
the  efforts  to  do  the  "lady  business"  resulted  not  infre- 
quently in  breaks  that  bordered  on  the  appalling;  and  one 
could  imagine  them  saying  to  themselves,  "You  just  wait 
till  this  honor  business  is  over,  and"  —  more  to  the  same 
effect. 

PUNCTILIOUS   DECORUM   BEFORE   SUPPER 

The  festivities  began  with  dancing.  Usually  when 
"Bohemia"  goes  in  for  this  sort  of  thing  the  joy  is  truly 
"unconfined" ;  and  (in  mixed  sporting  metaphor) ,  the  field 
being  "free  for  all,"  partners  are  deftly  "caught  on  the 
fly."  But  things  were  altogether  different  here.  You 
were  ceremoniously  introduced,  engagement  cards  were 
consulted,  and  all  the  rest  of  the  little  formalities  that  dis- 
tinguish like  functions  in  the  haut  monde  were  strictly 
observed.    Yes,  the  make-believe  was  quite  tremendous. 

About  midnight  there  was  an  intermission  for  supper. 
The  many  were  served  informally;  but  a  score  or  so  (chiefly 


THE  UNDERWORLD  147 

members  of  the  press,  and  some  "military"  guests  from 
out  of  town),  were  invited  to  an  elaborate  banquet,  with 
Jack  Nelson  in  the  seat  of  honor.  To  each  male  guest 
there  was  assigned  a  fair  one  to  "take  in,"  —  clearly  a 
notable  reversal  of  the  usual  order  where  this  sort  are 
concerned,  —  and  anything  more  punctilious  than  this  af- 
fair it  would  be  hard  to  imagine.  Indeed,  until  well  along, 
when  the  champagne  began  to  exert  its  dissolving  effects, 
the  decorum  that  clouded  the  feast  was  fairly  depressing, 
as  most  of  the  women,  fearful  in  their  bewilderment  of 
caution  lest  they  put  their  unsure  feet  into  forbidden 
depths,  seldom  got  beyond  the  confidence-inspiring  weather 
stage;  for,  in  the  circumstances,  none  dared  lift  their  con- 
versational skirts  even  the  littlest  bit  to  help  them  in  their 
gropings  for  isles  of  safety. 

I  felt  instinctively  that  the  charmer  assigned  to  me  was 
somewhat  out  of  the  common.  The  something  in  her  eye, 
and  the  superior  manner  in  which  she  tossed  her  auburn- 
crowned  head,  carried  conviction  that  here  was  a  spirit  that 
needed  only  a  bit  of  well-directed  encouragement  to  reveal 
the  workings  of  an  impenitent  soul.  Therefore  (and  this 
purely  in  the  line  of  sociological  observation,  of  course), 
one  did  what  one  might  to  snip  here  and  there  a  constrain- 
ing fetter;  and,  quick  to  seize  the  psychological  moment, 
she  boldly  inquired  who  my  favorite  poet  might  be.  I 
would  not  now  like  to  say  whom,  in  this  undefended  emer- 
gency, and  considering  my  years,  I  distinguished  above 
others;  but  I  distinctly  recall  with  what  coy  fearlessness 
she  confided  to  me  that  her  own  favorite  was  Byron  —  a 
name  you  never  mentioned  in  those  days  unless  in  some 
mood  of  romantic  desperation  you  wanted  to  impress  peo- 
ple with  your  irreclaimable  depravity. 

Not  only  was  I  deeply  moved  by  her  confidence,  but 


148  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

frankly  kindled  to  an  intellectual  honesty  that  could  rise 
so  courageously  above  the  fettering  implications  of  her 
unaccustomed  situation ;  for  one  less  brave,  less  true  to  her 
ideals,  in  subserviency  to  a  prescribed  line  of  conduct  that 
was  to  be  "straight  to  the  wink  of  an  eye-lash,"  might  have 
cravenly  douched  the  lambent  flame  of  her  soul,  and 
handed  me  out  either  N.  P.  Willis  or  George  P.  Morris, 
for  it  was  this  pair,  along  with  the  immortal  Tupper  and 
Mrs.  Hemans,  who  above  others,  at  this  period,  harried  the 
*' absolutely  pure"  yet  passion-laden  hearts  of  the  Middle 
West. 

EEVELRY   AFTER   SUPPER 

Supper  over,  the  fair  ones  returned  to  the  dance,  and 
next  day  some  of  the  Board  of  Trade  "boys"  gave  it  out 
that  after  the  departure  of  the  reportorial  censor  outfit, 
the  hoodoo  spell  that  had  hung  like  a  pall  over  the  fes- 
tivities was  quickly  exorcised,  —  and  I  can  imagine  my  im- 
penitent siren  well  to  the  fore.  Even  before  our  with- 
drawal the  affair  had  degenerated  into  a  huge  drinking 
bout.  Wine  had  not  only  been  served  without  stint  by  the 
host  dining  supper,  but  after  that  the  guests  took  a  hand, 
and  champagne  was  ordered  by  the  case.  Among  others 
who  completely  lost  their  heads  was  Billy  Bolshaw,  of  the 
Matteson  House  Cafe.  When  I  came  on  him  a  few  days 
later,  he  showed  me  a  wine  bill  above  five  hundred  dollars, 
and  ruefully  asked  what  I  thought  of  it. 

Your  born  reporter  is  a  moralist  by  nature,  and  all  are 
so  by  profession.  Furthermore,  if  he  be  not  also  an  embryo 
psychologist,  —  the  reader  will  recall  my  convincing  ex- 
periment with  her  of  the  oriflame, —  he  has  sadly  mistaken 
his  calHng.  For  him  humanity  divides  into  types  based 
upon  elemental  passions.  Beneath  the  conventional  he 
looks  for  the  real.    It  is  needless  to  say  that  this  "  Sunny- 


THE  UNDERWORLD  149 

side  opening"  furnished  many  an  object  lesson.  In  your 
typical  Magdalen,  multiple  personalities  make  lightning 
changes  —  one  moment  a  compassionate  Sister  of  Mercy, 
the  next,  a  rapacious  harpy.  For  love  she  will  give  herself 
and  all;  in  hate,  seven  devils  possess  her.  Instinctively 
aware  that  the  ties  that  bind  her  lover  are  of  the  woof  of 
her  own  frailties,  her  poor  maudlin,  sentimental  heart  is 
ever  a  prey  to  hordes  of  green-eyed  monsters. 

Broadly  speaking,  was  there  ever  a  social  function, 
with  its  inevitable  oversights  and  subtle  discriminations, 
that  did  not  cause  heartburnings  in  some  maidenly  breast, 
however  gentle,  self-effacing,  or  innocent  of  "claims"? 
What  then  could  be  expected  where  undisciplined  hearts 
were  lashed  as  rudderless  barks  on  a  storm-swept  sea,  and 
"claims"  on  masculinity  were  thicker  than  pebbles  on  a 
beach?  And  were  not  all  put  in  jeopardy  to  rival  lures 
as  never  before,  because  forsooth  there  were  muscle-hamp- 
ering convenances  to  be  observed?  So,  while  hostages  to 
"honor"  might  prevail  against  intolerable  itchings  at  the 
fingers'  ends  for  the  time,  they  could  not  restrain  nature's 
impulses  forever;  and  so  it  is  sad  to  chronicle,  that  for 
many  days  after  this  event,  police  justices  were  worked 
over-time  issuing  warrants  of  arrest  for  "assault  and  bat- 
tery"; while  on  successive  mornings  the  old  Armory  Court 
exhibited  such  varied  facial  disfigurements  that  the  psych- 
ologic interest  (not  to  mention  the  moral  censor  function) 
was  completely  lost  in  the  shock  to  artistic  sensibilities, 
when  one  recalled  how  these  animated  canvasses,  now  so 
streaked  and  splotched,  but  a  few  nights  before  had  daz- 
zled the  beholder  with  their  deftly  composed  color  schemes. 


THE  UNDERWORLD  (Concluded) 

A  Deluge  of  Keno  —  The  Police  Profit  Largely  by  the  Gam- 
bling—  Hundreds  of  the  Players  Arrested  —  "Colonel" 
Haverly,  Gambler  and  "Man  of  Business"  Combined  —  The 
Opening  of  the  West  Side  Driving  Park  —  Many  Act  on 
Haverly's  Business  Principle  and  "Get  Left"  —  Cleaning 
OUT  the  "North  Side  Sands"  —  Roger  Plant's  "Under  the 
Willow"  —  "Why  Not?" 

FEW  who  were  of  the  Chicago  of  the  middle  sixties 
and  in  any  manner  "men-about-town,"  can  have  for- 
gotten the  introduction  of  a  game  that  has  been  de- 
scribed as  consisting  of  one  fellow  calling  out  numbers, 
another  after  a  while  shouting  "Keno,"  and  a  whole  lot 
of  other  fellows  vociferating,  "Oh,  h — 11!"  For  months 
little  else  was  talked  about.  Was  it  gambling?  Ah,  that 
was  the  question!  The  "sports"  said  no,  as  "keno"  was 
only  another  name  for  a  certain  innocent  German  pastime 
called  "lotto."  The  police,  meanwhile,  could  n't  come  to  any 
conclusion  —  indeed,  how  could  they,  with  their  "rake-off" 
in  mind?  —  and  so  matters  were  allowed  to  drift  until  the 
craze  passed  all  bounds.  For  faro  and  like  orthodox 
gambling  devices  Chicago  had  never  been  "open"  in  the 
sense  that  Western  cattle  or  mining  towns  are,  where  you 
enter  the  tiger's  den  directly  from  the  street,  and  the  best 
ground-floors  are  reserved  for  the  animal's  sinuous  dis- 
porting. No,  faro  had  to  be  played  at  least  one  flight  up, 
and  with  some  pretence  to  closed  doors.  But  keno!  ah, 
that  was  different!  First  floors  on  Randolph  Street,  be- 
tween Clark  and  State  —  then  par  excellence  the  gambling 

150 


THE  UNDERWORLD  151 

"midway" —  were  soon  renting  at  exorbitant  figures;  and, 
spacious  as  they  might  be,  there  was  seldom  sufficient  room 
to  accommodate  would-be  patrons.  On  Saturday  nights 
in  particular  the  crowds  that  gathered  not  only  blocked  the 
sidewalks,  but  filled  up  a  good  part  of  the  street;  while 
above  all  the  din  and  uproar  of  this  congregated  loaferdom, 
the  casual  wayfarer  could  plainly  hear  the  urn  manipu- 
lator's call,  "Sixty-fourl"  "Seventy-two I"  "Eleven!" 
"  Forty-three!"  or  whatever  might  be  the  numbers  drawn; 
and,  over  all,  in  due  course,  the  triumphant  "Keno!" 

THE  POLICE  PROFIT  LARGELY  BY  THE  GAMBLING 

An  order  from  headquarters  to  "shut  up"  would  at 
any  time  have  sufficed  to  put  all  these  establishments  in- 
stantly out  of  business.  But  such  a  matter-of-fact  pro- 
ceeding would  have  brought  no  grist  to  the  Armory 
Station  police  mill.  Accordingly  (when  the  scandal  had 
finally  made  some  action  imperative) ,  realizing  that  even 
an  appearance  of  "shutting  up  shop"  would  seriously  cut 
down  their  "diwy,"  the  powers  determined  to  recoup  by  a 
big  "pull"  —  with  bail-bond  pickings  at  a  dollar  a  head 
for  the  justices,  and  five  dollars  or  more  per  victim  to  the 
professional  bailors  —  and  all  this,  properly  proportioned 
between  captain  and  sergeants,  promised  to  make  life 
reasonably  worth  living  to  those  in  charge  of  the  Armory 
precinct,  which  at  this  time  included  the  entire  south 
division. 

HUNDREDS   OF  THE  PLAYERS   ARRESTED 

The  police  selected  a  Saturday  night,  of  course,  and 
the  hour  when  there  would  be  most  to  "  pull  off."  While 
practically  the  entire  force  was  brought  to  the  scene,  there 
were  yet  only  policemen  enough  to  guard  the  various  out- 


162  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

lets  simultaneously,  with  a  reserve  squad  for  escort  duty, 
which  in  the  circumstances  barely  sufficed  to  cope  with  the 
contents  of  a  single  establishment  at  a  time.  Hence  nearly 
a  dozen  trips  were  made,  and  while  the  raid  began  before 
ten  o'clock,  it  was  long  after  midnight  before  the  last 
"den"  was  emptied. 

To  facilitate  the  bailing  process,  both  the  police  justices 
of  that  day,  ex-Mayor  Isaac  N.  Milliken  and  ex-school- 
teacher A.  D.  Sturtevant,  were  on  hand;  and  the  gravity 
with  which  they  piled  their  desks  with  greenbacks  was 
exceeded  only  by  the  unction  with  which  the  bailors  pock- 
eted their  fat  pickings. 

A  raid  so  wholesale  had  never  before  been  attempted, 
and  most  likely  has  not  been  seen  since.  The  old  Armory 
was  a  goodly  sized  building,  three  stories  high.  Soon  it 
was  packed  from  bottom  to  top  with  victims,  and  still  they 
came.  There  was  a  big  bam  in  the  rear,  and  when  that 
was  filled,  a  lot  were  corralled  in  the  open  street,  and  sep- 
arated from  the  thousands  of  outsiders  drawn  to  the  scene 
by  a  barrier  of  blue-coats.  Sunday  morning  came,  and 
still  the  bailing  grind  went  on.  Then  an  odd  thing  hap- 
pened. The  justices  ran  out  of  printed  blanks,  and  it 
became  necessary  to  write  out  the  entire  rigmarole  on 
sheets  of  foolscap;  and  to  this  service  every  policeman 
capable  of  wielding  a  pen,  and  who  might  be  spared  from 
guard  duty,  was  impressed. 

It  was  by  no  means  an  ordinary  "catch"  that  was 
brought  to  land.  As  everything  had  been  conducted  for 
weeks  with  wide-open  doors,  many  a  staid  burgher  was 
caught,  who  had  dropped  in  merely  to  see  the  fun.  But 
in  "the  eyes  of  the  law"  that  made  no  difference;  and  while 
the  patient  wife  waited  by  the  fireside  for  the  coming  of 
her  liege,  "Smith"  or  "Jones"  of  record  was  eating  his 


THE  UNDERWORLD  153 

heart  out,  while  waiting  through  weary  hours  for  the  par- 
ticular Jones  or  Smith  whom  he  stood  for,  to  be  called  to 
receive  his  charter  of  liberty. 

While  hundreds  of  the  well-to-do  were  thus  enabled  to 
spend  the  Sabbath  (or  what  was  left  of  it)  in  the  agitated 
bosoms  of  their  families,  other  hundreds,  whom  the  game 
had  perchance  served  scurvily,  were  compelled  to  take  "pot 
luck"  of  unsweetened  mush  and  black  coffee  with  the 
turnkey  until  Monday  morning,  when  they  were  either  re- 
leased through  the  good  offices  of  friends,  or  joined  the 
procession  to  the  Bridewell,  then  a  dilapidated  rookery  in 
the  region  of  Franklin  and  Harrison  Streets. 

"colonel"  haverly,  gambler  and  "man  of  business" 

combined 

When  an  old  regime  is  passing,  and  a  new  order  is 
struggHng  to  take  its  place,  there  is  usually  some  one  pre- 
pared to  take  the  leadership.  The  period  from  the  close  of 
the  war  to  the  fire  was  one  of  travail.  In  a  very  real 
sense  a  new  world  was  being  born.  The  old  shell,  however, 
was  not  always  ready  to  be  shaken  off,  and  this  resulted  in 
a  state  of  things  in  which,  despite  strong  counter  influences, 
the  authority  of  the  past  was  still  able  to  hold  the  com- 
munity to  an  outward  observance  of  established  conven- 
ances. But  when  the  old  Chicago  had  gone  up  in  smoke, 
the  "new  spirit,"  in  so  far  as  it  could  be  expressed  by  the 
term  "sport,"  suddenly  awoke  to  its  opportunities,  and 
valiantly  determined  that  the  rebirth  should  be  fittingly 
informed.  If  this  incarnation  was  looking  for  a  leader,  it 
found  one  ready-made  in  "Colonel"  J.  H.  Haverly,  of 
Mastodon  Minstrel  fame. 

"Jack"  Haverly  was  the  thoroughbred  gambler 
changed  with  the  transition  then  in  progress  into  the  or- 


154  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

ganizer  or  "promoter."  His  kind  is  common  enough 
now  anywhere,  and  Chicago  has  since  nurtured  the  species 
in  some  of  its  most  exuberant  and  picturesque  forms ;  but 
a  third  of  a  century  ago,  Haverly  was  still  a  kind  apart, 
and  he  literally  "  blazed  the  way  "  for  the  host  that  has  since 
followed  his  somewhat  tortuous  and  elusive  trail.  The 
problem  facing  the  "new  spirit"  was  in  effect  this:  how  to 
merge  the  gambler  in  the  acceptable  "business  man,"  or 
vice  versa,  without  loss  of  caste  in  either  direction.  It  was 
given  to  "Jack"  to  show  how  it  could  be  done.  Was  he 
not  par  excellence  a  "  business  man  "  ? —  nay,  a  whole  syndi- 
cate of  them?  His  minstrel  aggregation  had  already  be- 
come a  mere  side  speculation.  He  was  now  lessee  of  the 
old  Post  Office,  —  gutted  by  the  fire,  and  transformed  into 
a  great  auditorium  —  where,  in  conjunction  with  the  ir- 
repressible Colonel  Mapleson,  he  shone  with  dazzling 
effulgence  as  a  grand  opera  impresario  —  while  the  gold 
mines  that  he  did  not  own  in  Colorado  and  Utah  about  this 
time  were  scarcely  worth  mentioning. 

THE   OPENING   OF   THE   WEST   SIDE   DRIVING   PAEK 

In  the  ante-fire  days,  as  has  been  shown,  Chicago  was 
a  bit  slow  in  the  racing  hne,  and  especially  in  betting  on 
events  of  that  sort.  There  had  been  at  Dexter  Park  an 
occasional  trotting  day  or  two,  varied  now  and  then  by  a 
day  devoted  to  running  races ;  but  it  was  not  until  the  open- 
ing of  the  West  Side  Driving  Park,  in  the  middle  seventies, 
that  a  full-fledged  running  meeting  was  established,  with 
"Lucky"  Baldwin's  famous  mare  Molly  McCarthy  as  the 
bright  particular  star. 

In  addition  to  "Lucky's"  California  stable,  there  were 
several  of  note  from  bluegrass  Kentucky  to  give  eclat  to 
the  "opening."    And  along  with  the  latter  there  came  a 


THE  UNDERWORLD  155 

varied  assortment  of  "Colonels,"  "Majors,"  "Judges,"  and 
other  folk  of  that  ilk;  but  as  these,  in  spite  of  their  reassur- 
ing titles,  were  suspected  of  belonging  to  the  gambling 
class,  their  example  as  an  influence  toward  a  larger  freedom 
for  the  oppressed  was  negligible.  In  those  pre-trust  days 
one  heard  a  good  deal  about  introducing  "business  meth- 
ods" into  religion  (where  now  the  concern  is  how  to  get 
a  bit  of  religion  into  business),  and  so  highly  honored  was 
the  term  when  untainted  by  the  virus  that  characterizes  its 
degenerate  offspring  "commercialism,"  that  if,  by  any  de- 
vice, it  could  be  associated  in  the  public  mind  with  betting 
on  races  as  a  mode  of  "investment,"  the  taboo  that  had 
theretofore  overshadowed  that  kind  of  sport  would  be 
quickly  removed.  It  was  precisely  here  that  Haverly 
came  in. 

MANY  ACT  ON  HAVERLY's  " BUSINESS"  PEINCIPLE  TO  THEIE 

COST 

"Jack,"  as  has  been  intimated,  was  at  this  period  sat- 
urated with  "business."  At  the  same  time,  —  as  bearing 
on  the  obverse  side  of  the  problem  to  be  solved,  —  as  a 
practical  moralist  he  honestly  believed  that  betting  on 
horses  was  in  no  wise  more  sinful  than  gambling  in  wheat 
or  speculating  in  grand  opera  enterprises,  with  its  prima 
donna  hazards :  and  in  this  he  was  probably  not  far  out  of 
the  way.  Accordingly,  he  undertook  to  demonstrate  that 
this  sort  of  thing  could  be  reduced  to  a  steady  dividend- 
paying  basis;  and  for  a  time  the  "principle"  on  which  he 
operated  seemed  to  warrant  his  contention.  However, 
"Haverly  luck"  took  him  only  far  enough  to  carry  a  large 
confiding  public  with  him  into  the  "hole"  always  gaping 
for  their  kind  —  and  left  them  there.  The  "straight" 
gambler  in  "Jack"  —  when  uncorrupted  by  his  "business" 


156  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

alternate  —  easily  knew  better  than  to  risk  his  money  on 
the  uncertainties  of  horse  flesh.  Men  of  that  kind  have  no 
illusions  about  the  game;  and  whenever  their  sort  go  out 
of  their  way  to  "play  the  races,"  it  is  a  foregone  conclusion 
that  they  have  some  kind  of  "  inside  information."  But  the 
"business"  Haverly  had  his  limitations. 

For  a  time  "Jack"  literally  stormed  the  betting-ring. 
He  headed  every  auction  pool  (book-making  at  this  time 
was  unknown  in  Chicago),  usually  with  a  cool  thousand. 
This  sort  of  race  pool-buying  in  the  open  —  precisely  as 
one  might  buy  real  or  imaginary  wheat  or  pork  in  their  re- 
spective "rings"  or  "pits"  on  the  Board  of  Trade  —  was 
an  altogether  new  wrinkle  in  the  "legitimate"  gambling 
game,  and  so  absorbed  public  attention  that  the  papers 
severally  felt  obliged  to  send  an  extra  reporter  to  the  races 
to  make  a  record  of  Haverly's  "investments."  Of  course, 
when  the  papers  came  to  print  daily  tabulated  reports  of 
"Jack's"  doings  —  just  as  they  reported  the  sale  of  car- 
loads of  wheat  or  beeves,  or  cargoes  of  lumber  —  no  Chi- 
cagoan  brought  up  on  a  diet  of  quotations  could  be  sup- 
posed to  know  the  difference  between  the  tweedledum  of 
the  one  and  the  tweedledee  of  the  other,  and  frankly  ac- 
cepted the  game  at  its  quotation  value.  Thereafter,  hazards 
on  races  became  a  fashionable  amusement,  and  everybody 
followed  society  into  the  betting-ring.  What  mattered  the 
corruption  of  youths?  But  at  last  there  came  an  awaken- 
ing of  the  public  conscience,  —  and  now  even  in  New  Yjork, 
which  had  set  the  pace,  open  betting  on  races  is  no  longer  a 
legalized  road  to  ruin. 

CLEANING  OUT  THE   "NORTH   SIDE   SANDS " 

Some  reference  should  be  made,  as  a  part  of  old-time 
underworld  history,  to  "Long  John's"  exploit  in  clean- 


LONG   JOHN"    WENTWORTH 
(Chicago's  Giant  Major) 


i 


THE  UNDERWORLD  157 

ing  out  the  "North  Side  Sands."  This  happened  in 
the  later  fifties,  and  I  can  speak  from  personal  knowl- 
edge only  of  its  effects.  As  to  the  "cleaning  out"  there 
can  be  no  doubt;  and  equally  certain  is  it  that  it  was  a 
drama  that  had  better  been  left  unacted.  In  some  aspect 
the  social  evil  is  bound  to  exist ;  and  sociologists  are  pretty 
well  agreed  that  it  is  best  to  segregate  it  under  strict  police 
surveillance.  That  "the  Sands"  fulfilled  the  first  of  these 
conditions,  admits  of  no  question;  and  they  were  a  flaring 
scandal  and  a  menace  to  public  order  only  because  of  in- 
adequate police  control.  Probably  no  event  in  Chicago's 
history  up  to  the  time  of  the  fire  was  as  much  talked  about 
all  over  the  West,  and  so  variously  conmiented  upon. 

The  scene  of  the  episode  was  an  isolated  sand  barren,  on 
the  bleak  North  Shore,  with  Michigan  Street  for  its  centre. 
It  was  the  fashion  in  the  rough-and-ready  volunteer  fire 
department  days  for  the  "authorities"  to  give  the  men 
that  "ran  wid  de  masheen"  and  worked  the  brakes,  on 
one  pretext  or  another,  a  "time,"  —  by  making  them  in- 
struments of  "moral  regeneration."  I  remember,  when  a 
lad  in  Cincinnati,  witnessing  one  of  these  "law  and  order" 
diversions.  A  three-story  tenement,  which  had  acquired 
an  evil  name,  was  attacked  amid  a  tremendous  ado,  and 
made  entirely  untenable,  though  there  was  no  shghtest 
sign  of  fire.  I  happened  to  be  near  the  scene  when  the 
hubbub  began  and  saw  many  women  fleeing  the  premises 
as  for  their  lives,  amidst  the  shouts  and  jeers  of  their  as- 
sailants. From  this  minor  episode  I  can  imagine  what 
the  major  "cleaning  out"  must  have  been,  regarded  purely 
as  "sport."  Here  was  an  assemblage  of  rookeries,  none 
above  two  stories  in  height,  and  very  easily  demolished. 
The  brute  in  the  average  man  was  far  gieater  in 
those  days  than  now.     There  were  no  doubt  many  es- 


168  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

timable  citizens  connected  with  some  of  the  fire  companies, 
for  they  were  of  many  degrees,  including  one  or  two 
regarded  as  quite  "tony."  But  others  were  mere  "fight- 
ing" organizations,  with  small  reference  to  fires;  and 
sometimes  one  would  get  so  demoralized  as  to  call  for  dis- 
bandment.  Thus  it  was  men  in  many  instances  in  no  wise 
above  the  level  of  their  victims,  who  in  a  riotous  enthusiasm 
drove  these  bedraggled  outcasts  from  their  shelter,  and 
forced  them  to  seek  refuge  where  none  was  obtainable. 
Yet  this  exhibition  of  barbarism  in  the  name  of  high  moral- 
ity set  "Long  John"  apart  in  the  estimation  of  "good  and 
pious  people,"  as  the  defender  of  the  home  and  an  apostle 
of  purity;  while  to  the  "men  about  town"  it  furnished  a 
theme  to  dramatize. 

And  what  happened  afterwards?  Why  this,  that  for 
years  it  made  untenable  for  decent  folk  all  of  the  South 
Side  east  of  Clark  and  south  of  Madison  Street ;  and  it  was 
left  for  the  fire  to  make  an  end  of  this  state  of  things. 
South  Wells,  from  Madison  to  Van  Buren  Street,  was  the 
centre  of  this  aggregation  of  vileness ;  and  so  evil  a  name 
did  this  thoroughfare  acquire  from  its  belongings,  that 
later,  to  fit  it  for  trade,  it  was,  on  petition  of  fronting* 
property  owners,  fumigated  into  Fifth  Avenue. 

The  raid  took  place  on  April  20,  1857;  and  while  from 
all  accounts  a  most  wanton  affair,  it  was  not  initiated 
without  some  color  of  law.  Writs  to  eject  several  of  the 
squatters  for  non-payment  of  ground  rent  had  been 
placed  in  the  hands  of  Sheriff  John  L.  Wilson,  and  when 
"Long  John"  heard  that  the  rookeries  to  be  cleaned  out 
had  been  marked,  he  thoughtfully  advised  that  "all  be 
marked."  Then,  while  the  ejectment  under  the  sheriff 
was  proceeding  —  though  not  without  stout  resistance  — 
a  fire  got  itself  "accidentally"  started,  and  this  gave  the 


THE  UNDERWORLD  159 

coveted  opportunity  for  the  department  to  "play"  into 
the  game  —  with  his  mayoral  highness  as  a  supporting 
presence. 

"under  the  -willow" 

Roger  Plant's  "Under  the  Willow,"  southeast  corner 
of  Wells  and  Monroe  Streets,  was  the  very  core  of  this 
corruption.  Originally  "Under  the  Willow"  applied  only 
to  the  corner  building.  But  with  the  progress  of  the 
war  —  and  the  increase  pari  passu  of  its  inevitable  accom- 
paniments—  one  adjoining  rookery  after  another,  both 
to  the  east  and  to  the  south,  was  added,  until  the  name 
applied  to  nearly  half  a  block;  and  now  Police  Captain 
Jack  Nelson  dubbed  it  "  Roger's  Barracks." 

Patrols  were  never  at  a  loss  where  to  look  for  "strays" 
from  the  outlying  camps  —  though  this  was  by  no  means 
always  the  same  as  finding  them,  for  Roger  maintained 
a  very  thorough  outpost  system,  and  it  was  only  by  ap- 
proaching these  delectable  precincts  in  character,  as  sheep 
ready  for  the  shearing,  that  an  alarm  could  be  fore- 
stalled, and  escape  from  the  labyrinth  by  devious  passages 
and  alley-ways  cut  off.  As  for  the  police,  they  seldom 
troubled  the  place  during  the  war  years.  For  one  thing, 
Roger  paid  his  toll  with  exemplary  regularity;  and,  for 
another,  it  was  like  "pulling  in"  an  elephant  to  fill  the 
Armory  police  station  with  blue-coats,  who  laughed  a 
magistrate  to  scorn  when  he  talked  about  fines  and  bride- 
wells. Verily,  it  was  on  no  such  flimsy  charge  as  being 
caught  in  a  "disorderly  house"  that  the  city  authorities 
could  keep  one  in  Uncle  Sam's  uniform  from  his  "sworn 
duty."  Roger  was  a  diminutive  Yorkshireman ;  whereas 
Mrs.  Plant,  a  graduate  from  the  purlieus  of  Liverpool, 
easily  balanced  two  of  him  on  the  scales,  with  something 
left  over.     Their  offspring  had  come  mostly  in  pairs. 


1«0  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

They  were  everywhere  in  and  about  the  place ;  and  it  was 
an  off-day  when  Captain  Jack  Nelson  did  n't  have  a  new 
story  about  Mrs.  P.,  and  her  entourage.  These,  how- 
ever, never  found  their  way  into  print. 

In  his  small  way  Roger  was  quite  a  character.  Call- 
ing his  place  "Under  the  Willow"  showed  his  sentimental 
side.  And  then  there  was  Roger  the  humorist.  Every 
window  of  the  den  displayed  on  a  flaring  blue  shade,  in 
large  gilt  letters,  the  legend  "Why  Not?"  It  is  needless 
to  say  that  the  phrase  acquired  a  large  street  currency. 
The  place  was  a  refuge  for  the  very  nethermost  strata  of 
the  Underworld  —  the  refuse  of  the  bridewell.  Only  by 
seeking  the  bottom  of  the  malodorous  river  could  its  in- 
mates go  lower  —  as  they  sometimes  did. 

With  time  Roger  began  to  take  himself  very  seriously. 
It  was  not  that  he  experienced  a  change  of  heart ;  but,  hav- 
ing made  his  "pile,"  he  became  a  landed  proprietor,  alleg- 
ing that  a  country  life  was  best  for  the  morals  of  children. 
He  now  also  became  a  patron  of  the  turf,  and  otherwise 
blossomed  into  a  pattern  of  respectability.  Well,  "Why 
Not?" 


A  RETROSPECT 

The  Chicago  of  1862  —  How  It  was  Dramatized  by  Purveyors  of 
Gossip  —  "Long  John's"  Doings  —  A  Roll-Call  of  Old  Set- 
tlers—  First  Group:  Very  Old-Timers  —  Second  Group:  Men 
OF  the  Thirties  —  Third  Group  :  Men  of  the  Forties  —  Fourth 
Group:  Arrivals  about  1850  —  Fifth  Group:  Names  Familiar 
To-day  —  A  Few  Men  Noted  for  Wit  or  Eloquence  Who  had 
Passed  Away  —  What  Makes  for  the  Greatness  op  Chicago? 
—  Its  Preeminence  in  Women  Musicians  —  The  Whistler  of 
the  Future. 

IT  does  not  always  follow  that  the  substantial  men  of  a 
community  are  also  the  most  widely  known  and  talked 
about.  It  is  true  to  a  marked  degree,  however,  that 
solidity  and  celebrity,  in  the  young  West,  were  frequently 
covered  by  the  same  hat.  The  "personal"  paragraph,  so 
conspicuous  in  the  up-to-date  twentieth-century  news- 
paper, had  as  yet  small  vogue;  but  the  oral  purveyor  of 
personal  gossip  was  in  great  form.  Not  then,  as  now,  did 
the  representative  of  the  seller  haunt  the  country  store  to 
drum  up  business,  for  in  those  days  even  the  most  insignif- 
icant cross-roads  storekeeper  betook  himself  at  least  twice 
a  year  to  some  trade  centre,  mingled  familiarly  with  its 
leading  merchants,  noted  their  salient  characteristics,  and 
listened  to  stories  about  them.  These  impalpable  additions 
to  his  stock  in  trade,  he  would  on  his  return  unctuously  re- 
tail (along  with  the  latest  consignment  of  cove  oysters, 
plug  tobacco,  or  smoked  herring)  to  absorbed  listeners,, 
picturesquely  grouped  amidst  the  impedimenta  of  his  es- 
tablishment.    And   whatever   might   be   lacking   in   the 

161 


162  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

presentation  of  the  protagonist  was  readily  supplemented 
by  one  or  another  of  his  listeners.  In  those  days  every 
country  merchant  was  perforce  a  prime  story-teller  (a 
function  now  largely  usurped  by  the  "drummer"), 
thoroughly  versed  in  the  art  of  dramatizing  every  smallest 
detail  to  realistic  effect;  and  hence,  when  any  backwoods 
Hoosier  or  Sucker,  Badger,  Hawkeye,  or  Wolverine,  dis- 
embarked for  the  first  time  from  canal  boat  or  "prairie 
schooner"  in  the  future  Metropolis  of  the  West,  he  could 
say  with  truth  (as  indeed  he  frequently  did)  on  meeting 
this  or  that  personage  notable  above  the  common:  "I 
hearn  tell  on  you  often;  I  reckon  I  know  purty  much  all 
about  you." 

Furthermore,  if  the  newspaper  of  that  day  was  a  bit 
slow  in  the  matter  of  "personal  mention"  (though  seldom 
lacking  in  this  respect  when  it  came  to  a  question  of  scalp- 
ing a  rival  quill-driver) ,  its  advertising  columns  constituted 
a  far  truer  reflex  of  the  city's  business  with  the  outside 
than  any  metropolitan  paper  of  this  era,  for  in  those  days 
it  was  the  wholesale  merchant  or  jobber,  rather  than  the 
retailer,  who  exploited  his  business  not  only  in  the  dailies 
of  his  own  city,  but  in  scores  of  country  weeklies.  The 
"drummer"  has  changed  all  that;  and  while  the  great  de- 
partment stores  more  than  compensate  the  big  dailies  for 
the  lost  patronage  of  jobbers,  the  veteran  country  editor 
looks  back  regretfully  to  halcyon  days  now  enjoyed  in  his 
stead  by  the  village  hotel-keeper. 

"long  John's"  doings 

"Long  John,"  although  not  strictly  a  merchant  —  ex- 
cept as  he  "sold"  the  unwary  through  the  columns  of  his 
very  personally  conducted  Democrat,  —  was  for  many 
years  far  and  away  the  "top-liner"  and  hero  par  excel- 


WILLIAM    B.  OGDEN 

(Chicago's  First  Mayor,  and  "Bijfgest  All-round  Man 
in  the  Northwest") 


A  RETROSPECT  103 

lencCj  if  not  always  sans  rejjroche,  of  Western  romance  and 
story.  "Long  John's  doings"  naturally  came  in  time  to 
include  much  of  which  he  was  wholly  innocent;  but  the 
story  most  often  retold  and  redecorated  to  suit  the  jaded 
tastes  of  hlase  listeners  referred  to  the  way  this  mayoral 
giant  "cleaned  out"  and  submerged  the  "North  Side 
Sands,"  the  salient  features  of  which  have  already  been 
detailed. 

A  ROLL-CALL  OF  OLD  SETTLERS:  FIRST  GROUP 

Others  besides  "Long  John,"  that  were  frequent  sub- 
jects of  free-hand,  cross-roads  character-drawing,  were 
three  notable  individuals  whose  advent  antedated  1830; 
namely,  Gurdon  S.  Hubbard  (1818) ,  Archibald  Clybourne 
( 1823) ,  and  Mark  Beaubien  ( 1826) .  Oddly  enough  none 
of  these  were  permanent  residents  from  first  to  last. 
Hubbard,  up  to  the  thirties,  was  a  frequent  absentee. 
Clybourne  had  actually  to  be  "annexed"  to  make  him  a 
true-blue,  "blown-in-the-glass"  Chicagoan ;  while  Beaubien 
spent  the  last  decade  and  more  of  his  long  life  in  Kendall 
County.  Clybourne,  on  his  arrival  at  the  "Post,"  in  1823, 
from  Virginia,  took  root  on  the  west  side  of  the  North 
Branch,  about  two  miles  from  the  junction  of  the  two 
branches  (a  locality  that  through  him  came  to  be  known  as 
"New  Virginia")  ;  and  while  the  early  city  limits  extended 
considerably  farther  than  this  on  the  north  side,  the  west 
shore  of  the  river,  so  far  out,  was  not  included  until  the 
city  had  reached  a  population  approximating  100,000;  so 
that  Clybourne  did  not  become  a  citizen  of  Chicago  until, 
as  before  said,  he  was  nolens  volens  annexed. 

To  this  list  of  first-comers,  as  antedating  the  men  of 
the  thirties,  should  be  added  the  names  of  John  H.  and 
Robert  A.  Kinzie,  sons  of  John  Kinzie,  Chicago's  first 


164  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

bona  fide  settler.  Neither  of  these,  however,  happened  to 
be  residents  of  the  city  in  the  early  sixties.  John  H.  Kin- 
zie  was  a  candidate  for  mayor  at  the  city's  first  election. 
He  died  in  1865.  His  brother  Robert  in  after  years  made 
Chicago  his  permanent  home.  A  few  others,  much  talked 
about,  but  gone  over  to  the  majority,  were  General  Jean 
Baptiste  Beaubien,  Madore  B.  Beaubien,  William  Cald- 
well (The  Sauganash),  Russell  E.  Heacock,  and  above 
most,  David  Kennison,  who  died  in  1852  at  the  extraor- 
dinary age  of  one  hundred  and  sixteen  years,  and  was  the 
last  survivor  of  the  historical  Boston  Tea  Party. 

SECOND  group:  men  of  the  thirties 

Other  notables  of  the  "Old  Guard"  who  arrived  in  the 
thirties,  and  were  for  the  most  part  in  hale  and  hearty  mid- 
dle life,  were  Wm.  B.  Ogden,  the  first  mayor  and  the 
biggest  all-round  man  in  the  Northwest ;  as  also  a  remark- 
able group  of  other  ex-mayors,  including  Buckner  S. 
Morris,  B.  W.  Raymond,  Francis  C.  Sherman,  W.  S. 
Gurnee,  A.  S.  Sherman  (the  latter  died  at  a  very  ad- 
vanced age  only  a  few  years  ago),  Levi  D.  Boone  (a 
stalwart  Know-nothing),  "Long  John"  Wentworth  (of 
course),  Isaac  L.  Milliken  (who  started  as  a  blacksmith 
and  ended  as  a  police  justice) ,  John  C.  Haines,  and  Julian 
S.  Rumsey.  Other  old-timers  calling  for  mention  were: 
Alanson  and  James  M.  Adsit,  Hon.  Isaac  N.  Arnold, 
Jerome  Beecher,  Jacob  Beidler,  J.  K.  Botsford,  Erastus 
Bowen,  Ariel  Bowman,  C.  P.  Bradley,  Judge  J.  B.  Brad- 
well,  Alexander  Brand,  Dr.  Daniel  Brainard,  William  H. 
Brown,  A.  G.  Burley,  A.  H.  Burley,  Alvin  Calhoun,  John 
Calhoun,  Philo  Carpenter,  T.  B.  Carter,  Judge  John  D. 
Caton,  George  Chacksfield,  S.  D.  Childs,  Thomas  Church, 
W.  L.  Church,  Francis  Clark,  John  L.  Clark,  Charles 


LEVI    D.   BOONE 


THOMAS   HOYNE 


A  RETROSPECT  165 

Cleaver,  Silas  B.  Cobb,  "Ike"  Cook  (whilom  proprietor 
of  the  "Young  America"  resort,  postmaster,  and  above 
all  famous  for  his  inexpugnable  faith  in  the  ability  of 
Truth  to  rise  again,  no  matter  how  "squashed  to  earth"), 
Ira  and  James  Couch  (early  mine  hosts  par  excellence  at 
the  old  Tremont),  Calvin  De  Wolf,  Hugh  T.  Dickey, 
Michael  Diversey,  George  W.  Dole,  Judge  Thomas 
Drummond,  Dr.  C.  V.  Dyer,  Dr.  J.  W.  Eldridge,  Charles 
and  Daniel  Elston,  Robert  Fergus,  Dr.  John  Foster,  J. 
W.  Freer,  John  Frink  (who,  with  the  Walkers,  owned 
all  the  stage  coaches  in  which  one  travelled  in  the  forties 
and  fifties  in  the  West),  Alanson  and  Charles  Follansbee, 
Judge  Henry  Fuller,  Jared  and  John  Gage,  Abram  Gale, 
Stephen  F.  Gale,  Augustus  Garrett  (five  times  a  candi- 
date and  three  times  elected  mayor) ,  P.  W.  Gates,  Samuel 
H.  Gilbert,  Judge  Grant  Goodrich,  T.  W.  Goodrich, 
Amos  and  S.  W.  Grannis,  Dexter  Graves,  Henry  Graves, 
Charles  M.,  Franklin  D.,  George  M.,  John,  Joseph  H., 
and  Moses  Gray,  B.  F.  Hadduck,  E.  H.  Hadduck,  E.  M. 
Haines,  Philip  A.  Hall,  Colonel  John  H.  Hamilton,  P.  D. 
Hamilton,  John  L.  Hanchett,  Charles  L.,  E.  R.,  Isaac  D., 
and  Isaac  N.  Harmon,  E.  W.  Herrick,  Judge  Van  H. 
Higgins,  L.  P.  Hilliard,  Samuel  Hoard,  C.  N.  Holden, 
O.  S.  Hough,  R.  M.  Hough,  Thomas  Hoyne,  Alonzo 
Huntington,  Fernando  Jones,  Hon.  Norman  B.  Judd, 
Mark  Kimball,  Walter  Kimball,  Tuthill  King,  Abraham 
V.  Knickerbocker,  Mathew  Laflin,  William  M.  Larrabee, 
Iver  Lawson,  William  Lill,  Sylvester  Lind,  James  Long, 
Alexander  Lloyd,  H.  H.  Magie,  Hugh  Maher,  Judge 
George  Manierre,  James  A.  Marshall,  the  Morrison 
brothers,  Adam  Murray,  W.  F.  Myrick,  Walter  L.  New- 
berry, Mahlon  D.  Ogden,  Peter  Page,  Elijah  Peacock, 
Joseph  Peacock,  Ebenezer  Peck,  P.  F.  W.  Peck,  Hibbard 


166  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

Porter,  John  and  Redmond  Prindeville,  Asahel  Pierce, 
James  H.  Rees,  Thomas  Richmond,  Hugh  Ross,  George 
F.  Rmnsey,  Colonel  J.  B.  F.  Russell,  F.  G.  Saltonstall, 
William  W.  Saltonstall,  J.  Y.  Scammon,  Peter  Schuttler 
(whose  name  was  on  most  of  the  wagons  one  saw  in  the 
early  decades),  George  Scott,  Judge  Mark  Skinner, 
George  Smith  (the  West's  most  prominent  banker,  and 
who  died  a  few  years  ago  in  London,  leaving  an  estate 
estimated  between  $50,000,000  and  $75,000,000),  George 
W.  Snow,  William  B.  Snowhook,  Isaac  Spear,  Marcus 
C.  Stearns,  George  Steel,  Jonathan  W.  Steele,  Gen.  Hart 
L.  Stewart,  H.  O.  Stone,  Patrick  Strachan,  General 
R.  K.  Swift,  E.  B.  Talcott,  Mancel  Talcott,  Reuben 
Tayler,  A.  D.,  Ezra  Daniel,  and  William  H.  Taylor, 
David  A.  Thatcher,  E.  I.  and  D.  O.  Tinkham,  John 
Turner,  John  M.  Turner,  Frederick  Tuttle,  Nelson 
Tuttle,  John  M.  Van  Osdell,  Elijah  S.  and  Julius  Wads- 
worth,  George  W.  Waite,  Charles  Walker,  Curran 
Walker,  Samuel  B.  Walker,  John  Watkins,  General 
Joseph  D.  Webster,  C.  G.  Wicker,  Joel  H.  Wicker, 
Alonzo  J.  Willard,  E.  W.  Willard,  John  L.  Wilson, 
Judge  John  M.  Wilson,  Alexander  Wolcott,  John  S. 
Wright,  Peter  L.  Yoe.  Of  all  the  above  only  Fernando 
Jones  and  Redmond  Prindeville  are  now  among  the  living. 

THIRD   group:     men   OF   THE   FORTIES 

Among  somewhat  later  arrivals  (the  men  of  the  for- 
ties) the  Hon.  William  Bross,  ex-Lieutenant-governor 
and  "deacon"  extraordinary,  easily  took  first  rank,  be- 
cause—  well,  because  he  was  "Deacon"  Bross.  Others 
who  achieved  prominence  were :  Addison  Ballard,  Chaun- 
cey  B.  Blair,  E.  W.  Blatchford,  Michael  Brand,  I.  H. 
Burch,  Jonathan  Burr,  Benjamin  Carpenter,  William  E. 


DR.  CHARLES  VOLNEY  DYER 


JUDGE  MARK  SKINNER 


A  RETROSPECT  167 

Doggett,  J.  H.  Dunham,  Zabina  Eastman  (a  stalwart 
among  Abolitionists),  Henry  Farnum,  C.  B.  and  J.  V. 
Farwell,  Alexander  N.  Fullerton,  S.  C.  Griggs,  Philip  A. 
Hoyne,  Hon.  E.  C.  Lamed,  Robert  Law,  Orring- 
ton  Lunt,  ex-Mayor  Roswell  B.  Mason,  E.  B.  McCagg, 
Cyrus  H.  McCormick,  ex-Mayor  John  B.  Rice,  Joseph  T. 
Ryerson,  Conrad  Seipp,  Edwin  H.  Sheldon,  David  Stew- 
art, Daniel  Thompson,  A.  G.  Throop,  Judge  Murray  F. 
Tuley,  John  B.  Turner,  John  R.  Walsh. 

FOURTH   group:   ARRIVALS   ABOUT   1850 

And  still  another  group,  chronologically  considered, 
running  both  forward  and  backward  some  years  from 
1850,  included  the  following:  Judge  Corydon  Beckwith, 
William  Best,  T.  B.  Blackstone,  Chauncey,  George  S., 
and  James  H.  Bowen,  Lorenz  Brentano,  Hon.  Thomas 
B.  Bryan,  Nicholas  Clapp,  R.  T.  Crane,  Dr.  N.  S.  Davis, 
John  B.  Drake,  George  L.  Dunlap,  David  A.  and  George 
W.  Gage,  C.  G.  Hammond,  Colonel  John  L.  Hancock, 
T.  W.  Harvey,  Charles  H.  and  C.  M.  Henderson,  A.  C. 
Hesing,  the  Keith  brothers,  W.  D.  Kerfoot,  S.  D.  Kim- 
bark,  Henry  W.  King,  J.  H.  McVicker,  Joseph  Medill, 
Ira  Y.  Munn,  Walter  C.  Newberry,  Frank  Parmelee,  Pot- 
ter Palmer,  H.  H.  Porter,  Henry  Russell,  George  Schnei- 
der, John  B.  Sherman,  Sol.  A.  Smith,  F.  F.  Spencer. 

FIFTH  group:  names  familiar  to-day 

And  lastly  reference  should  be  made  to  a  group  whose 
names  are  familiar  to  nearly  every  Chicagoan  of  to-day 
(though  the  majority  of  even  these  have  closed  their 
careers)  but  who,  for  the  most  part,  were  wholly  unknown 
in  1862,  or  just  rising  into  recognition  within  the  lines  of 
their  specialties,  yet  in  a  few  years  were  literally  to  dom- 


168  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

inate  almost  every  branch  of  commercial  activity.  George 
M.  Pullman  was  somewhat  known  in  connection  with  the 
raising  of  the  Tremont  House,  and  other  buildings  on 
Lake  Street,  but  his  first  "sleeper"  was  not  completed 
until  1863.  Marshall  Field  and  L.  Z.  Leiter  were  merely 
rising  junior  partners.  William  F.  Coolbaugh  and  John 
Crerar  were  new  arrivals;  Lyman  J.  Gage  had  just  been 
promoted  to  the  cashiership  of  the  Merchants  Savings, 
Loan  &  Trust  Company;  and  beginners  with  these  were: 
S.  W.  Allerton,  A.  M.  Billings,  John  W.  Doane,  N.  K. 
Fairbank,  John  C.  Gault,  H.  N.  Higginbotham,  Marvin 
Hughitt,  B.  P.  Hutchinson  ("Old  Hutch"),  General 
A.  C.  McClurg,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  Franklin  Mac- 
Veagh,  O.  W.  Potter,  Jesse  Spaulding,  Wilbur  F.  Storey 
(he  came  in  1861),  while  Chief  Justice  M.  W.  Fuller  was 
a  rising  young  lawyer,  along  with  B.  F.  Ayer,  C.  C.  Bon- 
ney,  Wirt  Dexter,  W.  C.  Goudy,  Edwin  Haskin,  E.  S. 
Isham,  John  N.  Jewett,  James  S.  Kirk,  Emory  A.  Storrs, 
Lambert  Tree,  James  M.  Walker. 

WHAT   MAKES   FOR  THE   GREATNESS   OF   CHICAGO? 

"What  makes  for  the  greatness  of  Chicago?"  has  been 
a  standing  query  ever  since  there  was  any  Chicago  at  all 
to  talk  about.  Many  causes  have  been  assigned.  A 
goodly  share  may  well  be  claimed  for  the  men  before  men- 
tioned ;  but  an  answer  coming  nearest  the  truth  would  prob- 
ably be  to  say  it  was  born  great.  Nevertheless,  if  special 
causes  are  to  be  at  all  considered,  the  one  advanced  by  Dr. 
William  Mason,  of  musical  fame  (recently  deceased),  in 
his  interesting  autobiography,  should  receive  grave  con- 
sideration. Nearly  half  a  century  ago,  and  just  returned 
from  a  sojourn  of  several  years  in  Germany,  and  the  com- 
panionship of  such  men  as  Wagner  and  Liszt,  Dr.  Mason 


DEACON    WILLIAM    BROSS 


A  RETROSPECT  169 

gave  a  concert  in  Chicago ;  and  at  a  reception  subsequently 
held  in  his  honor,  found  on  the  feminine  side  "only  sweet 
New  England  girls."  "Where  are  your  married  women?" 
he  inquired.  The  reply  was,  "  They  are  here.  They  were 
girls  in  New  England,  but  our  fallows  went  after  them, 
and  they  are  all  married  now." 

And  to  this  naive  and  charming  genesis  he  attributes 
most  of  the  greatness  that  has  since  fallen  to  Chicago's  lot. 
Verily  an  unanswerable  dictum,  for  who  would  be  so  un- 
gallant  as  to  call  it  in  question?  Besides,  has  not  the 
greatness  of  ancient  Rome  been  attributed  to  a  blend  sug- 
gestively similar?  —  though  happily  for  Chicago,  differing 
in  method  of  courtsliip.  And  so,  what  the  Sabine  maidens 
were  to  the  old-time  mistress  of  the  world,  "sweet  New 
England  girls"  are  to  its  twentieth-century  successor.  And 
it  is  thus  that  history  repeats  itself. 

Nevertheless,  the  causes  that  apparently  make  for  pop- 
ulation or  contribute  to  greatness  in  one  instance  seldom 
produce  similar  effects  in  others.  Rome,  as  a  site,  remains 
where  it  was  two  thousand  years  ago.  Its  seven  hills  stand 
unmoved.  Neither  has  Venice  shifted  much  (though  now 
decidedly  wobbly)  since  it  dominated  the  maritime  world. 
Yet  to-day  these  are  little  more  than  show  places.  And  the 
conditions  that  make  for  intellectual  centres  are  even  more 
recondite  and  elusive.  What,  for  example,  made  Boston 
fifty  years  ago  one  of  the  lights  of  the  world,  and  why  is 
that  light  to-day  so  effectually  hidden?  And  what,  by  the 
same  token,  got  into  the  soil  that  overlays  Chicago's 
original  quagmire,  that  it  should  so  conduce  to  the  "rais- 
ing" of  great  preachers,  that  New  York  might  become  a 
religious  barren  should  either  the  seed  or  the  soil's  fructify- 
ing powers  give  out?  And  again,  what  is  there  peculiar  in 
the  musical  atmosphere  of  the  Phoenix  City,  that  it  should 


170  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

produce  contemporaneously  not  only  the  world's  two  great- 
est women  musicians,  but  almost  the  two  greatest  of  either 
sex?  And  this  in  face  of  the  fact  that  women,  with  rare 
exceptions,  have  heretofore  not  distinguished  themselves 
as  instrumentalists.  Naturally,  all  the  world  is  now  look- 
ing to  the  same  source  for  the  first  great  woman  composer. 
Judging  by  what  has  already  been  done  and  is  still 
doing,  in  creative  literature,  it  is  not  only  evident  that  Chi- 
cago is  fully  up  "with  the  procession,"  but  may  any  day 
forge  forward  and  give  to  the  world  the  only  truly  Ameri- 
can "great"  that  everybody  is  so  eagerly  awaiting.  And 
yet,  what  this  wonderfully  creative  city  should  easily  be 
foremost  in,  it  has  hitherto  failed  to  yield  —  a  supreme 
master  with  the  brush.  That  the  incomparable  Whistler 
should  have  achieved  his  apotheosis  anywhere  but  in  Chi- 
cago (with  which  his  ancestry  is  so  intimately  associated) 
seems  an  instance  of  ungracious  artistic  misfit  —  for  what 
is  the  "mystery"  (an  important  element  in  all  great  art) 
wrapped  in  a  London  fog,  compared  to  the  phantasms 
which  so  imaginative  a  conjurer  might  have  evoked  from 
any  square  yard  of  ordinary  Chicago  atmosphere!  How- 
ever, there  is  still  hope,  as  there  is  yet  time:  and  when  the 
inevitable  genius  shall  arrive,  his  "high  noons,"  painted 
from  the  vantage  of  a  thirty-story  skyscraper,  may  rival 
in  luring  depths  and  haunting  obscuration  the  most  in- 
spired nocturnes  of  the  departed  master. 


A  BIRD'S-EYE  VIEW 

The  City  and  Its  Court  House  in  1862  —  The  Immediate  Sur- 
roundings OF  THE  Square  —  The  View  from  the  Court  House 
Dome  —  Why  Chicago  was  Known  as  the  "Garden  City"  — 
The  View  Southward  —  The  Old  Plank  Roads. 

IN  1862,  the  year  of  my  arrival,  Chicago  had  an  esti- 
mated population  of  120,000,  distributed  among  its 
three  divisions,  both  as  to  character  and  numbers,  in 
about  the  same  proportion  as  are  to-day  its  approximately 
2,500,000  inhabitants.  The  south  division  remains  what 
it  was  then,  the  business  centre ;  but  where  now  are  several 
distinct  foci  in  the  general  maelstrom,  each  comparable  to 
the  original  nucleus,  and  sufficiently  specialized  to  admit  of 
geographical  demarcation,  the  Court  House  in  those  days 
brooked  no  rivals.  With  its  aspiring  cupola,  it  so  dom- 
inated the  town  that  none  could  help  looking  up  to  it  as 
something  superior  and  apart  —  being,  in  fact,  the  only 
really  tall  object  in  sight,  except  when  "Long  John"  hap- 
pened to  take  an  airing.  If  you  wanted  a  hack  you  went 
to  the  Court  House  Square  for  it;  and  it  was  nearly  the 
same  if  you  were  looking  for  a  policeman,  for  several  could 
generally  be  found  hanging  about  there  to  prevent  rival 
hackmen  from  murdering  each  other,  or  a  combination  of 
the  pestiferous  crew  from  doing  a  stranger  to  death,  both 
being  not  infrequent  happenings.  Anywhere  else  a  police- 
man was  seldom  seen  —  outside  of  saloons.  But,  frankly, 
what  better  could  one  expect  of  men  content  to  wear 
leather  shields  as  insignia  of  authority?    In  those  days  the 

171 


172  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

force  was  under  a  marshal,  and  that  functionary  was  a 
mere  satrap  of  the  Mayor.  Accordingly,  in  1857,  when 
"Long  John"  came  to  the  head  of  affairs,  being  deter- 
mined that  the  "copper"  shoidd  not  get  above  his  business, 
he  put  the  adage,  "there  is  nothing  like  leather,"  to  a  prac- 
tical test.  Most  people  are  aware  that  both  "bobby"  and 
"peeler,"  as  slang  for  "policeman,"  date  from  Sir  Robert 
Peel's  ministry.  But  it  is  not  so  generally  known  that 
"copper,"  as  another  epithet  of  derision,  is  claimed  to  date 
from  the  mayoralty  of  John  C.  Haines,  once  somewhat 
widely  known  as  "Copper-stock"  Haines  (because  of  some 
transaction  in  that  metal),  and  hence  its  variants  "cop," 
"fly  cop,"  and  "sparrow-cop." 

In  a  way,  also,  the  Court  House  was  everybody's 
monitor  and  guide.  It  told  you  when  to  rise,  when  to  eat 
your  dinner,  when  to  knock  off  work,  when  to  jubilate, 
when  to  mourn,  and,  above  all,  it  helped  you  to  locate  fires ; 
for  the  clang  of  its  great  bell  could  be  heard  in  almost 
every  part  of  the  town.  Aye,  how  it  rang  paeans  of  victory 
for  Donelson,  for  Vicksburg,  and  Gettysburg,  and  finally 
for  Richmond,  when  that  stronghold  fell!  And  how  its 
slow,  solemn  monotone  voiced  the  anguish  of  all  hearts, 
when  the  body  of  the  slain  Lincoln  was  borne  through  the 
shrouded  streets  of  the  mourning  city,  to  rest  for  a  day 
and  a  night  beneath  the  dome  of  the  city's  capitol,  that  a 
stricken  people  might  once  more  look  upon  the  trans- 
figiu"ed  face  of  their  beloved  dead!  And,  finally,  how  it 
clanged,  and  clanged,  and  clanged  again,  on  that  fearful 
night  of  fire,  each  stroke  heightening  the  terror  that  pos- 
sessed the  fleeing  multitude,  while  the  "fiend"  that  lashed 
the  elements  to  such  boundless  fury,  compelled  it  to  sound 
its  own  death-knell. 


THE  LINCOLN  FUNERAL  PROCESSION  IN  CHICAGO 


RECEPTION  OF  THE    REMAINS  AT  THE  COURT  HOUSE 


A  BIRD'S-EYE  VIEW  173 

THE   IMMEDIATE   SURROUNDINGS   OF   THE  SQUARE 

In  1862  the  Court  House  Square  was  surrounded  by 
an  oddly  assorted  architectural  hodgepodge,  strikingly 
typical  of  the  various  stages  of  the  city's  development,  from 
the  primitive  "frame"  of  the  thirties,  to  the  new,  six- 
storied  marble  Sherman  House,  at  this  time  the  finest 
building  in  the  city,  as  well  as  one  of  the  best  appointed 
hotels  in  the  country.  Because  of  the  panic  of  1857,  and 
the  subsequent  war,  the  Chicago  of  this  period  represents 
a  status  quo  of  nearly  a  full  decade.  Thereafter,  from 
1865,  down  to  the  time  of  the  fire,  the  city  was  in  an  ex- 
ceptional state  of  flux,  and  so  much  of  the  dilapidation 
of  former  days  disappeared,  that  it  was  in  quite  a  large 
way  a  comparatively  new  downtown  Chicago  that  was 
destroyed  on  October  9,  1871. 

Where  Washington  Street  bounds  the  Court  House 
Square  (then  enclosed  by  a  high  iron  fence),  there  re- 
mained down  to  1864  nearly  a  block  of  original  prairie, 
a  dozen  feet  below  the  plank  sidewalk;  and  when,  in  1863, 
the  plot  was  tenanted  by  a  winter  circus,  its  patrons  de- 
scended to  their  seats  as  into  a  cellar.  When,  in  the 
middle  sixties,  the  building  boom  set  in.  Smith  &  Nixon 
erected  on  the  site  now  occupied  by  the  Chicago  Opera 
House  a  fine  Music  Hall,  which  was  opened,  if  I  am  not 
mistaken,  with  a  concert  by  Gottschalk.  Among  other 
events  I  recall  as  taking  place  therein  was  a  state  billiard 
tournament,  wherein  Tom  Foley,  the  veritable  stand-by 
of  to-day,  won  the  State  championship, —  a  circumstance 
which  throws  a  calcium  light  on  the  status  of  the  game  at 
that  period;  a  concert  by  "Blind  Tom";  and  a  lecture  by 
William  Lloyd  Garrison,  on  "  Reconstruction." 

In  marked  contrast  to  the  vacant  plot,  and  neighboring 


174  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

it  on  the  corner  of  La  Salle  Street,  stood  one  of  the  tallest- 
steepled  churches  in  the  city,  the  First  Baptist.  This,  in 
1864,  was  taken  down  bit  by  bit  and  reconstructed  on  its 
present  site,  Morgan  and  Monroe  Streets,  there  becoming 
the  Second  Baptist.  In  its  place  rose  Chicago's  first  fine 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  to  be  followed  after  the  fire  by 
a  second  trade-temple  of  similar  dimensions,  only  the  outer 
walls  of  which  now  remain,  as  the  substructure  to  a 
skyscraper. 

The  southwest  corner,  across  La  Salle  Street  from  the 
Baptist  church,  calls  for  special  mention.  It  was  at  this 
time  occupied  by  a  brick  building  of  two  stories  and  base- 
ment, among  the  first  dwellings  of  that  material  erected  in 
Chicago.  It  was  originally  the  home  of  P.  F.  W.  Peck; 
and  before  it  was  demolished,  about  1867,  after  a  some- 
what checkered  existence,  it  had  been  some  years  the  head- 
quarters of  the  police  department,  with  a  calaboose  in  the 
basement. 

The  old  landmark  was  succeeded  by  one  of  the  finest 
buildings  in  the  city,  with  the  Union  National  Bank  for 
its  chief  tenant.  After  the  fire  the  bank  was  temporarily 
domiciled  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Market  and  Madison 
Streets,  which  one-sided  locality  —  with  Field,  Leiter  & 
Co.'s  establishment,  both  wholesale  and  retail,  on  the 
northeast  corner,  and  the  Board  of  Trade  opposite  —  be- 
came for  a  time  the  business  focus  of  the  city.  Within 
a  year  or  so,  the  old  Peck  residence  site  was  rehabilitated 
with  an  even  more  substantial  building  than  the  one 
destroyed;  and  so  this  intersection,  when  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce  had  been  rebuilt,  became  once  again  the  city's 
chief  business  centre.  In  addition  to  the  Union  National 
Bank,  then  the  leading  financial  institution  in  the  West,  the 


I 


0 


A  BIRD'S-EYE  VIEW  176 

new  building  accommodated  the  Western  Union  Telegraph 
Company,  the  Associated  Press,  the  Western  Army  Head- 
quarters (in  charge  of  General  Phil.  Sheridan),  another 
bank,  and  many  important  interests  besides.  Neverthe- 
less, though  of  goodly  size,  this  structure  was  in  1893 
ruthlessly  razed  to  give  place  to  the  present  Stock  Ex- 
change building.  Thus,  in  its  various  stages,  this  corner 
has  been  preeminently  typical  of  the  city's  vicissitudes  and 
progress ;  while  the  frequent  changes  in  its  physical  aspect 
emphasize  the  difficulties  of  the  chronicler  in  undertaking 
to  reproduce  with  certitude  any  particular  epoch  in  the 
city's  physical  history. 

Besides  the  Sherman  House  and  the  Baptist  church, 
almost  the  only  other  salient  feature  on  the  four  fronts 
facing  the  Square  was  the  Larmon  block  of  four  stories, 
on  the  northeast  corner  of  Washington  and  Clark  Streets, 
having  for  its  tenant  on  the  upper  floor  Bryant  and  Strat- 
ton's  Business  College,  a  fact  that  was  announced  to  the 
wayfarer  by  a  sign  so  conspicuous  as  almost  to  belittle  the 
Court  House  dome  as  an  object  of  attention.  The  ground 
floor  was  occupied  by  J.  T.  &  E.  M.  Edwards,  jewelers; 
Julius  Bauer,  pianos;  J.  M.  Loomis,  hatter;  Root  & 
Cady's  music  store,  and  Buck  &  Raynor's  drug  store. 
Others  on  Clark  Street  facing  the  Square,  and  running 
north  in  the  order  noted,  were:  Ambrose  &  Jackson  (col- 
ored), caterers;  Bryan  Hall  entrance;  George  Tolle,  sur- 
gical instruments;  E.  J.  Hopson,  millinery;  "Anderson's'* 
(a  restaurant  presided  over  by  John  Wright,  who  a  few 
years  later  opened  in  Crosby's  Opera  House  the  first  really 
"swell"  resort  in  the  city) ;  "Campbell's,"  hair  jewelry; 
J.  Gray,  wigs;  E.  A.  Jessell,  auctioneer  (a  "Peter  Funk," 
if  ever  there  was  one) ;  while  on  the  corner  of  Randolph 


176  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

there  lingered  a  senile  frame  construction,  in  color  a  dirty 
yellow,  on  the  second  floor  of  which  Carter  H.  Harrison, 
Sr.,  along  with  other  luminaries,  devoted  himself  to  the 
acquisition  and  exudation  of  lore  more  or  less  legal. 

On  Randolph  Street,  corner  of  La  Salle,  stood  a  four- 
story  brick,  and  all  the  rest  of  the  block  between  that  and 
the  Sherman  House  presented  a  depressed  line  of  two- 
story  tumble-down  frames,  dating  from  the  thirties,  the 
street  floors  devoted  to  free-lunch  resorts,  while  the  second 
stories  were  polluted  by  so-called  "justice"  offices,  and 
their  "shyster"  hangers-on. 

In  general  it  may  be  said  that  only  the  Clark  Street 
frontage  of  the  four  sides  of  the  Square  was  in  touch  with 
business  —  all  the  rest  being  as  much  out  of  it  as  the  un- 
settled prairie.  The  La  Salle  Street  side  was  made  up 
largely  of  forsaken  residences ;  and  it  was  not  until  several 
years  later,  when  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  was  estab- 
lished at  Washington  and  La  Salle,  that  the  region  there- 
about came  into  demand  for  business  purposes  —  though 
when  it  did,  it  jumped  at  one  bound  into  the  front  rank. 

The  Metropohtan  block,  on  the  northwest  corner  of 
La  Salle  and  Randolph  Streets,  was  a  somewhat  notable 
landmark.  Metropolitan  Hall,  on  its  third  or  upper  floor, 
was  prior  to  the  building  of  Bryan  Hall  (about  1860)  for 
many  years  the  most  capacious  place  of  assembly  in  the 
city,  and  many  notabilities,  not  only  of  national  but  inter- 
national fame,  had  attracted  crowds  within  its  walls.  Often 
it  was  decked  and  garlanded  for  fairs  and  balls ;  and  it  was 
here  (not  so  very  long  before  the  great  fire  in  which  he 
lost  his  life)  that  John  McDevitt,  he  of  the  velvet  touch, 
played  the  famous  game  of  billiards,  1,500  points  up, 
against  Joseph  Dion,  which  he  finished  while  his  opponent 
had  hardly  a  button  to  his  credit,  with  a  run  of  1,457  —  a 


c 


A  BIRD'S-EYE  VIEW  ITT 

feat  that  forced  the  "sharps"  to  put  their  heads  together, 
led  to  the  barring  of  the  push  shot  and  other  helps  to  big 
records,  and  so  put  the  game,  for  championship  honors, 
on  an  entirely  new  basis.  And  in  the  basement  of  the  block 
there  was  then,  and  had  been  for  many  years,  as  there  is 
still,  a  "Quincy  No.  9,"  a  relic  of  the  days  when  the  boys 
"ran  wid  de  masheen,"  and  which,  during  its  more  than 
half  a  century  of  existence,  has  scored  an  unexampled 
record  of  continuous  performance. 

THE  VIEW  FROM  THE  COUET  HOUSE  DOME 

Let  us  now  ascend  the  dome  of  the  Court  House.  The 
climb  is  not  so  wearisome  in  fancy  as  in  the  olden  days 
it  was  in  fact,  when  it  was  a  favorite  youthful  diversion. 
Near  the  top  we  shall  find  a  circular  balcony,  specially  de- 
signed for  sight-seeing,  and  let  that  be  our  place  of  obser- 
vation. In  an  atmosphere  as  yet  undefiled  by  the  soot  of 
ten  thousand  factories,  a  pleasing  panorama  unfolds  itself. 
Naturally  you  are  amazed  to  note  how  clearly  the  sand  hills 
of  Michigan,  beyond  the  shimmering  waters  of  the  lake, 
thirty  miles  away,  glint  in  the  sunlight.  Truly  it  would 
take  a  miracle  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  them  now,  even  from 
the  top  of  the  Auditorium  Tower,  except  perchance  for 
a  moment,  after  some  phenomenally  clearing  storm  from 
the  east. 

WHY   CHICAGO   WAS    KNOWN    AS   THE   ''GARDEN    CITY" 

As  you  gaze  about,  you  may  realize  why  Chicago  was 
once  generally  known  as  the  "  Garden  City."  First,  note 
those  broad  stretches  of  lovely  green,  due  to  tree-lined 
Wabash  and  Michigan  Avenues,  —  and  observe  how  richly 
the  neighborhood  of  Cottage  Grove  Avenue  is  wooded, 
and  the  area  of  verdure  widens  as  you  follow  it  south- 


178  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

ward  to  Hyde  Park.  The  building  in  the  midst  of  a  forest 
of  uncommonly  large  oaks,  at  about  Thirty-fifth  Street 
(then  outside  of  the  city  limits),  is  the  old  Chicago  Uni- 
versity, founded  by  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  who  at  the  time 
of  his  death  ( 1861 )  owned  much  of  the  land  in  its  vicinage. 

Although  the  foreground,  westward,  is  fairly  inviting 
(for  not  only  are  most  of  the  streets  tree-bordered,  but 
here  and  there  large,  unoccupied  spaces  refresh  the  eye 
with  their  rich  green),  it  is  really  not  until  you  turn  fully 
to  the  north,  and  a  bit  to  the  east,  that  a  climax  of  verdure 
is  revealed.  What  we  now  behold  is  a  magnificent  natural 
forest  in  the  midst  of  a  city, —  or  is  it  not  better  to  say 
that  the  city  here  plays  hide  and  seek  in  the  forest?  Either 
way,  it  is  a  dream.  The  noble,  lake-bordered  expanse  is 
divided  into  lordly  domains,  embellished  with  lovely  gar- 
dens. From  this  height  the  north  division,  east  of  Clark 
Street,  and  to  the  farthest  limits,  presents  an  unbroken 
stretch  of  woodland,  as  if  the  Lincoln  Park  of  to-day  (then 
in  part  a  cemetery,  and  for  the  rest  primeval  forest)  came 
down  to  North  Water  Street.  Not  only  is  every  street 
shaded,  but  entire  wooded  squares  contain  each  only 
a  single  habitation,  usually  near  its  centre,  thus  enabling 
their  fortunate  owners  to  live  in  park-like  surroundings. 

These  spacious  domains  exhibit  a  native  growth  re- 
markable for  its  variety.  The  Hon.  Isaac  N.  Arnold  is 
at  this  period  the  proud  owner  of  one  of  these  preserves, 
acquired  in  the  thirties  when  this  region  was  first  platted, 
and  when  entire  squares,  at  opportune  times,  were  bought 
for  less  than  the  present  value  of  a  single  lot,  with  fifty 
or  more  to  the  square.  Mr.  Arnold's  plot  retained  much 
of  its  original  aspect  up  to  the  fire,  and  he  could  point  out 
among  other  varieties  of  timber  (as  he  loved  to  do)  fine 
specimens  of  oak,  ash,  maple,  cherry,  elm,  birch,  hickory, 


By  Coiiit.-.v  III'  thr  Cliiiairii  llistiiric.il  Society 

RESIDENCE  OF  EZRA  B.  McCAGG 


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By  Courtesy  of  the  Chicago  Historical  Society 

THE  MAHLON  D.  OGDEN  PROPERTY 


A  BIRD'S-EYE  VIEW  179 

and  Cottonwood.  And  to  think  that  in  a  single  night  all 
this  wealth  of  nature  disappeared  as  if  it  had  never  been! 
Others  who  occupied  entire  squares  in  proximity  to 
Mr.  Arnold,  with  say  Rush  and  Ontario  Streets  as  an  ap- 
proximate centre,  were  such  well-known  old-timers  as  ex- 
Mayor  Wm.  B.  Ogden,  Walter  L.  Newberry,  Mark 
Skinner,  H.  H.  Magie,  and  a  little  farther  north,  E.  B. 
McCagg  and  Mahlon  D.  Ogden ;  while  the  detached  man- 
sion of  many  another  stood  in  grounds  of  approximate 
dimensions. 

THE  VIEW  SOUTHWARD 

Once  again  let  us  sweep  the  horizon  and  make  a  note 
of  salient  features.  South  of  Twenty-second  Street  (then 
known  as  Ringgold  Place)  scattered  buildings  mark  the 
course  of  Cottage  Grove  Avenue.  Between  Thirty-second 
and  Thirty-fifth  Streets,  and  running  about  an  equal  dis- 
tance westward  from  the  avenue,  is  a  high-boarded  enclos- 
ure, filled  with  temporary  barracks.  In  the  early  days  of 
the  war  this  served  as  a  recruiting  camp,  but  now  it  holds 
in  durance  ten  thousand  or  more  "Johnny  Rebs,"  corralled 
at  Forts  Henry  and  Donelson,  and  Island  No.  10. 

Half  a  mile  or  more  west  of  the  camp  is  a  clearing, 
for  the  most  part  owned  by  "Long  John."  In  a  few  years 
a  part  will  become  the  Chicago  Driving  Park,  with  an  in- 
cidental baseball  field.  And  later  still  a  larger  part  will 
be  occupied  by  the  Union  Stock  Yards,  with  the  Dexter 
Trotting  Park  just  south  of  them.  When  this  happens, 
in  the  later  sixties,  much  of  the  territory  between  the  Stock 
Yards  and  Twenty-second  Street  is  still  unoccupied 
prairie,  but  shortly  the  great  "Long  John  tract"  is  opened 
to  settlement,  and  Wentworth  Avenue  is  extended  through 
to  the  west  of  it. 

From  its  beginning  for  nearly  a  mile,  the  Archer  Road 


180  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

is  thinly  settled.  Then  come  clusters  of  large,  low  con- 
structions. These  are  either  slaughter  or  packing  houses, 
with  a  glue  factory  and  some  rendering  establishments 
thrown  in  to  heighten  the  malodorous  effect.  You  are  now 
gazing  on  Bridgeport,  a  settlement  beyond  the  corporate 
limits.  It  is  a  place  with  a  reputation.  Both  morally  and 
physically  it  is  a  cesspool,  a  stench  in  everybody's  nostrils, 
especially  when  there  is  a  breeze  from  the  southwest. 

Except  for  a  fringe  of  structures  along  the  South 
Branch,  the  entire  section  that  lies  between  Archer  and 
Blue  Island  Avenues  is  largely  unsettled  marshland,  in 
part  known  to  old  settlers  as  "  Hardscrabble."  The  pres- 
ent great  lumber  district,  with  its  teeming  factories,  is  little 
better  than  a  bog.  At  this  time  the  lumber  yards  are 
strung  along  the  South  Branch,  north  of  Eighteenth 
Street,  with  a  bunch  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  while  grain 
elevators  (though  by  no  means  the  leviathans  of  to-day) 
break  the  skyline  at  different  points  along  both  the  South 
and  North  Branches.  Our  sweep  has  taken  in  the  source 
of  Chicago's  early  greatness  —  its  "Big  Three";  for 
already  it  is  able  to  announce  to  an  amazed  world  that  it 
is  the  foremost  grain  mart,  lumber  market,  and  packing 
centre  in  the  world.  And  the  pride  that  thereat  swelled 
the  collective  Chicago  bosom  crops  out  occasionally  in 
individual  exhibitions  of  "chestiness"  even  to-day. 

THE   OLD    PLANK   EOADS 

West  of  Aberdeen,  and  south  of  Adams  Street,  land 
is  still  in  the  market  by  the  acre.  Peter  Schuttler  has  just 
domiciled  himself  on  the  outskirts  in  what  is  the  most  pre- 
tentious residence  in  the  city  —  and,  following  the  example 
of  the  North  Side  gentry,  has  placed  his  mansion  in  the 


A  BIRD'S-EYE  VIEW  181 

centre  of  extensive  grounds.  The  region  between  Adams 
and  Lake  Streets,  to  Union  Park,  is  fairly  built  up;  but 
beyond  that  point  (best  known  as  Bull's  Head)  the  habi- 
tations are  few  and  far  between;  yet  the  horse  cars  are 
pushing  to  Western  Avenue,  in  the  hope  that  population 
will  follow,  for  at  this  period  their  revenue  is  largely  de- 
rived from  Sunday  pleasure-seekers,  bound  for  various 
outlying  groves.  The  northwestern  part  of  the  town  is 
still  practically  unsettled,  and  from  about  Centre  Avenue 
and  Lake  Street  one  can  cut  across  to  Milwaukee  Avenue 
(better  known  as  the  Milwaukee  or  Northwestern  Plank 
Road)  without  other  obstruction  than  the  old  Galena  Rail- 
road track.  On  the  North  Branch  are  some  tanneries,  and 
a  tall  chimney  marks  the  site  of  Ward's  Rolling  Mill, 
later  to  become  the  nucleus  of  the  huge  collection  to  be 
known  as  the  North  Chicago  Rolling  Mills.  O.  W.  Potter 
is  at  this  time  Captain  Ward's  superintendent.  In  the 
north  division  the  building  line  halts  at  North  Avenue. 
The  site  of  Lincoln  Park  is  to  remain  for  some  time  a  most 
forbidding  locality,  for  ghosts  walk  there.  Beyond  lies 
thickly  wooded  Lake  View.  And  it  is  an  off  summer's 
day  when  some  German  society  does  not  hold  a  picnic 
there. 

Before  closing  with  the  general  view,  let  us  note  the 
fact  that  expansion  from  the  main  nucleus  proceeds  in 
narrow  lines  (somewhat  like  the  spokes  of  a  wheel) ,  show- 
ing large  areas  of  unsettled  prairie  between.  These  settled 
lines  mark  the  whereabouts  of  plank  roads,  known  as 
Archer,  Blue  Island,  South  Western  (now  Ogden  Ave- 
nue), Northwestern  (now  Milwaukee  Avenue),  Cly- 
bourne,  etc.  Fortunately,  these  exits  from  the  early 
settlement  were  retained  in  the  subsequent  platting,  and 


182  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

now  constitute  most  convenient  avenues  to  facilitate  rapid 
transit.  The  first  settlers  in  the  outlying  lowlands  were 
wise  in  sticking  close  to  what  then  most  resembled  solid 
ground,  for  away  from  planked  roads  danger  lurked  in 
every  rood  of  ground,  and  during  rainy  seasons  wading 
was  a  frequent  alternative  for  walking. 


THE  BUSINESS  CENTRE 

Old-time  Dominance  of  Lake  Street  —  The  Board  op  Trade 
Begins  the  Southward  Movement  —  It  is  Quickly  Followed 
BY  Business  Houses  —  Dearborn  Street  Becomes  a  Centre 
FOR  Newspapers  and  Resorts — Marshall  Field's  Influence 
IN  Determining  the  Business  Centre  —  His  Mind  the  Domi- 
nating Power  in  the  Firm  —  Marshall  Field  &  Co.,  Succes- 
sors TO  Field,  Leiter  &  Co. —  Contrast  between  Buildings  of 
1862  and  Those  of  To-day  —  The  City's  Iron  Age  —  The 
City's  Marble  Age  —  Chicago's  Excellent  Hotels  —  The 
Scarcity  of  Factories  and  Other  Large  Buildings. 

HAVING  made  acquaintance  with  the  "lay  of  the 
land "  in  general,  let  us  now  take  advantage  of  our 
eyrie  to  scan  the  business  section.  There  is  little 
occasion  to  glance  either  westward  or  southward,  or  even 
directly  eastward,  for  in  none  of  these  directions,  beyond 
the  Clark  Street  front  on  the  Square,  is  there  as  yet  any 
merchandising  worth  mentioning.  Practically  the  business 
area  is  still  bounded  by  South  Water  and  Randolph 
Streets,  with  only  Lake  Street  between — and  what  there 
is  on  Randolph  is  mostly  confined  to  the  single  block 
between  Clark  and  Dearborn  Streets. 

In  the  beginning  most  of  the  business  was  on  the  North 
Side.  Between  the  thirties  and  forties  it  crossed  the  river 
and  hummed  loudest  about  the  intersection  of  Lake  and 
La  Salle  Streets.  In  the  decade  following,  the  business 
centre  shifted  eastward  a  block  to  the  intersection  of  Lake 
and  Clark  Streets.  In  1862  the  spell  of  Lake  Street  is 
still  all-potent.  Not  only  is  it  the  city's  shopping  district, 
but  also  its  banking  and  wholesale  centre,  and  much  be- 

183 


184  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

sides.  Therefore,  merely  to  moot  the  possibility  that  busi- 
ness may  sometime  break  away  from  it  is  at  this  period 
to  most  people  of  that  locality  equivalent  to  an  attack 
on  vested  rights,  and  a  menace  to  universal  stability. 

THE  BOARD  OF  TRADE  BEGINS  THE  SOUTHWARD  MOVEMENT 

Accordingly,  when  a  few  years  later  the  Board  of 
Trade  resolved  to  desert  its  grimy  quarters  on  South 
AVater  Street,  skip  Lake  Street,  and  break  ground  at 
Washington  and  La  Salle  Streets,  there  was  much  wag- 
ging of  heads  over  the  flight  so  far  away  from  the  im- 
memorial business  centre;  and,  as  if  this  were  not  enough 
to  warrant  predictions  of  failure,  there  was  the  further 
reason  that  members  could  no  longer  watch  the  movement 
of  shipping  on  the  river,  a  hitherto  unfailing  source  of  in- 
terest and  diversion  between  deals. 

The  causes  that  for  nearly  a  decade  prior  to  1865 
brought  building  operations  in  Chicago  to  a  comparative 
standstill,  have  already  received  mention.  In  outlying 
parts,  and  especially  in  the  packing  district  (where  the 
war  had  stimulated  its  peculiar  enterprises  to  an  extraordi- 
nary activity),  construction  had  gone  forward  at  a  lively 
pace.  But  in  the  centre  of  the  city  so  few  changes  had 
taken  place,  and  the  existing  order  had  come  to  be  so  taken 
for  granted,  that,  when  the  business  community  finally 
awoke  to  its  shortcomings,  it  moved  so  suddenly  and  so 
swiftly  as  completely  to  upset  every  calculation  based  on 
the  status  quo  so  long  maintained. 

IT   IS   QUICKLY   FOLLOWED   BY   BUSINESS   HOUSES 

When  it  was  seen  that  the  Board  of  Trade  had  not 
only  come  to  no  harm  by  moving  so  far  afield,  but  was 
rapidly  becoming  an  important  centre,  with  office  buildings 


By  Courtesy  of  tlie  Chicago  Historical  Society 

Intersection  of  Lake  and  La  falle  Streets 


*'^^»-    • 

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By  Courtesy  of  the  Chicago  Historical  So<icty 

Intersection  of  L-ikc  and  Weils  Streets 
THE    EARLY    SHOPPING    DISTRICT 


THE  BUSINESS  CENTRE  185 

going  up  all  about  it,  there  was  a  movement  to  break 
bounds  and  enlarge  the  business  area  southward  from  Lake 
Street  all  along  the  line  from  Market  Street  to  Michigan 
Avenue.  And  while  State  Street  was  laying  ruthless 
hands  on  the  dry  goods,  jewelry,  book,  china,  and  kindred 
trades,  and  Wabash  and  Michigan  Avenues  were  diverting 
into  new  and  commodious  quarters  a  goodly  part  of  the 
wholesale  and  jobbing  trade,  other  sections  south  of  Ran- 
dolph, under  the  impetus  of  the  national  banking  law,  set 
up  as  financial  centres.  Notable  instances  were  the  group 
of  banks,  headed  by  the  Union  National,  about  the  Board 
of  Trade,  and  the  First  National,  in  the  new  State  Street 
retail  district.  Thus  was  Lake  Street  deprived  of  still 
another  old-time  monopoly.  And  while  State  Street  and 
the  avenues  to  the  east  were  absorbing  the  shopping  and 
jobbing  business,  and  La  Salle  Street  was  paying  special 
court  to  banking  and  insurance  interests,  Dearborn  Street 
came  into  favor  as  a  newspaper  centre. 

DEARBORN    STREET    BECOMES    A    CENTRE    FOR   NEWSPAPERS 

AND  RESORTS 

The  Journal  was  already  located  on  Dearborn  Street, 
opposite  the  Tremont  House,  with  the  Morning  Post  a 
block  farther  south.  The  Times,  in  1866,  left  Randolph 
for  its  new  quarters  on  Dearborn,  between  Washington 
and  Madison  Streets.  The  Tribune  a  little  later  moved 
from  Clark  Street,  opposite  the  Sherman  House,  to  its 
present  site.  The  Evening  Post  set  up  business  where 
the  Journal  is  now  located.  The  Staats-Zeitung  was  then 
published  on  Madison,  just  west  of  Dearborn;  while  the 
Republican  (later  the  Inter-Ocean)  started  on  Washing- 
ton Street.  That  thoroughfare  also  felt  the  impulse 
strongly,  for  within  a  year  it  secured,  among  other  im- 


186  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

provements,  between  La  Salle  and  State  Streets,  such 
important  accessions  in  a  single  line  as  Crosby's  Opera 
House  (then  the  most  imposing  "art  temple"  in  the  coun- 
try), Smith  &  Nixon's  Music  Hall  (opposite  the  Court 
House),  and  a  fine  minstrel  hall. 

At  the  time  when  Lake  Street  still  attracted  the  shop- 
per. Dearborn  and  Randolph  Streets,  at  their  intersection, 
lured  the  wayfarer,  the  gambler,  and  the  idle  pleasure- 
seeker  of  every  sort.  For  one  reason.  Dearborn  Street  was 
a  direct  approach  for  many  West  and  most  North  Siders  to 
the  Post  Office,  then  on  the  present  site  of  the  First  Na- 
tional Bank;  for  until  1866,  when  the  carrier  system  was 
introduced,  "going  for  your  mail"  was  an  everyday  neces- 
sity or  pastime.  And  then  all  through  the  fifties  Rice's 
theatre,  the  only  permanent  place  of  amusement  during 
most  of  this  period  in  the  city,  made  Dearborn  Street  a 
general  rendezvous  at  night ;  while  other  resorts  with  their 
more  or  less  questionable  attractions  did  the  rest.  It  was 
Ike  Cook's  "Young  America,"  on  the  southeast  corner  of 
Randolph,  that  caught  much  of  the  political  and  sporting 
drift.  It  was  the  headquarters  of  Senator  Douglas  for  a 
number  of  years,  and  consequently  a  rendezvous  for  such 
convivial  spirits  among  his  admirers  as  Dr.  Wm.  B.  Egan, 
Patrick  Ballingall,  General  U.  F.  Linder,  Dan  O'Hara, 
and  their  followers.  But  when,  about  1860,  the  McCor- 
mick  block  replaced  the  old  caravansary,  the  sports 
and  the  bloods  transferred  their  patronage  to  the  north- 
west corner,  and  made  Billy  Bolshaw's  Matteson  House 
Cafe  their  headquarters;  while  Randolph  Street,  for  a 
block  east  and  west,  formed  a  "banking  centre"  quite  a 
bit  different  from  the  approved  financial  interests  clustered 
about  Lake  and  La  Salle  Streets. 


THE  BUSINESS  CENTRE  187 

MAESHAIX   field's  INFLUENCE  IN   DETERMINING  THE 
BUSINESS    CENTRE 

The  gift  of  prevision  is  far  from  common ;  and  in  still 
rarer  instances  is  it  coupled  with  the  means  to  control  the 
environing  forces  to  desired  ends.  It  is  one  thing  to  see 
what  might,  could,  or  should  be  done  to  meet  the  demands 
or  possibilities  of  the  future,  and  it  is  quite  another  thing 
to  actualize  the  vision.  The  seer  is  seldom  a  doer  —  the 
inventor  rarely  controls  the  product  of  his  genius.  It  can 
be  said  with  truth,  however,  that  Chicago  is  able  to  show 
at  least  one  example,  and  that  in  a  superlative  degree, 
where  a  single  mind  again  and  again  determined  the  lines 
of  the  city's  material  development,  at  least  in  so  far  as  its 
business  centre  is  concerned.  This  distinction  belongs  to 
Marshall  Field;  and  in  noting  the  changes  the  business 
section  has  from  time  to  time  undergone,  it  may  be  of  in- 
terest to  mark  his  influence  where  it  crops  conspicuously  to 
the  surface.  It  is  probably  not  going  too  far  to  say  that 
as  an  incarnation  of  business  methods,  coupled  with  fore- 
sight along  distinctly  marked  lines,  the  world  has  seen  few 
the  equal  of  this  mercantile  field  marshal.  Though  a  force 
in  many  directions,  he  was  first  and  last  a  merchant  —  all 
other  things  being  subordinate,  or  at  most,  tributary  to  the 
controlling  interest. 

So  long  as  the  house  of  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.  (succes- 
sors to  Potter  Palmer,  and  later  to  Palmer,  Field,  Leiter 
&  Co.)  held  to  Lake  Street,  that  thoroughfare's  supremacy 
was  assured;  and  it  was  the  removal  of  this  firm  to  State 
and  Washington  Streets,  in  the  late  sixties,  that  gave  the 
proud  old  street  its  coup  de  grace.  From  then  on  till  the 
fire,  State  Street  was  the  city's  shopping  centre  almost  as 
dominantly  as  it  is  to-day;  though  a  few  of  the  long- 


188  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

established  houses,  like  Giles  Brothers  (the  Tiffanys  of  the 
West),  clung  tenaciously  to  their  old  moorings  until 
ousted  by  the  fire.  When,  after  the  fire,  it  became  a  ques- 
tion of  rebuilding  the  business  centre,  one  locality  may  be 
said  to  have  had  as  good  a  chance  as  another;  and  thefre- 
fore  intending  builders  for  retail  trade  accommodations 
waited  to  see  what  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.  would  do. 

Most  people  took  for  granted  that  the  city's  leading 
firm  would  preferably  return  to  its  old  site,  owned  by  the 
Singer  Company,  but  instead  it  established  itself  in  a 
hastily  constructed  building  of  its  own,  northeast  corner 
of  Market  and  Madison  Streets,  after  a  temporary  make- 
shift in  an  old  car-barn  on  State  at  Eighteenth  Street. 
The  change  to  Market  Street  sent  a  shiver  through  the 
whole  business  community.  It  was,  however,  a  shrewd 
venture,  a  multitude  of  disappointed  croakers  to  the  con- 
trary. The  North  Side  being  wiped  out,  as  well  as  a 
goodly  part  of  the  South  Side,  it  was  good  business  to  cater 
particularly  to  the  West  Side  (then  containing  consider- 
ably more  than  half  of  the  city's  population) ,  by  locating  at 
its  very  threshold.  Furthermore,  as  compared  with  State 
Street  prices,  lots  thereabouts  could  be  had  for  a  song, 
though,  when  other  dry-goods  houses,  as  well  as  leaders 
in  other  lines,  lost  no  time  in  settling  about  the  leader 
per  se,  real-estate  figures  in  their  vicinage  rose  by  leaps  and 
bounds.  The  area  south  of  Madison  Street,  along  Market 
and  Franklin  (or  rather  where  those  streets  were  opened 
after  the  fire)  had  been  an  unplatted  and  disreputable 
locality,  dominated  by  a  gas  house.  The  land  was  chiefly 
occupied,  and  in  some  fashion  owned,  by  Hibernian  shanty- 
men,  several  of  whom  became  Croesuses  over  night. 

This  move  on  the  part  of  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.  put  State 
Street  in  the  doldrums,  and  for  several  years  its  fate  hung 


1 

i 

Uy  Courtesy  of  the  Cliicufro  Historical  Society 

State  Street,  Near  Washington 


By  Courtesy  of  the  Chicairo  Historical  Society 

Intersection  of  Clark  and  Soutli  Water  Streets 

STREET   SCENES   BEFORE   THE    WAR 


THE  BUSINESS  CENTRE  189 

in  the  balance.  In  the  meantime,  the  Singer  Company 
concluded  to  rebuild  on  the  old  site,  but  it  did  so  very  re- 
luctantly, for  there  was  no  tenant  in  sight  for  so  pretentious 
a  structure.  While  the  building  was  going  up,  Field, 
Leiter  &  Co.  made  no  sign ;  but  its  heads  quietly  possessed 
themselves  of  various  parcels  of  real  estate  in  its  vicinage. 
Meantime  rumor  had  it  leased  first  to  one  rival,  and  then 
to  another,  including  A.  T.  Stewart  &  Co.,  of  New  York, 
but  nothing  came  of  it  all.  Finally,  it  pleased  Field,  Leiter 
&  Co.  to  reoccupy  their  old  site,  but  for  retail  trade  ex- 
clusively. They  returned  very  much  on  their  own  terms. 
So  the  retail  trade  of  the  city  was  once  again  securely 
anchored  on  State  Street.  Thus  we  see  that  on  three  dif- 
ferent occasions  it  was  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.  that  determined 
the  retail  focus  of  the  city;  and  that  Marshall  Field  was, 
and  had  been,  the  dominating  mind,  was  made  clear  the 
moment  a  personal  difference  sent  the  heads  apart. 

HIS   MIND   THE   DOMINATING   POWER   IN   THE   FIEM 

Levi  Z.  Leiter's  opinion  of  himself  as  a  business  man 
was  not  always  shared  by  his  co-workers ;  and  that  he  could 
make  no  valid  claim  to  possessing  either  exceptional  per- 
spicacity or  talent  for  leadership  was  made  evident  the 
moment  he  separated  from  the  Field  dominance.  Few  of 
Leiter's  independent  real-estate  investments  ranked  with 
those  made  by  the  head  of  the  firm  on  his  own  account ;  and 
in  other  respects  his  initiatives  proved  rather  ineffectual, 
and  were  saved  from  failure  only  because  general  develop- 
ment came  to  their  rescue.  After  the  fire  the  firm  had  a 
phenomenal  success;  and  most  of  the  excess  over  direct 
business  demands  was  put  by  the  heads  into  real  estate, 
and  their  investments  became  controlling  factors  in  de- 
termining values  in  the  vicinage  of  their  purchases.  During 


190  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

these  years  the  real-estate  news  department  of  the 
Times  was  in  charge  of  the  writer,  and  a  Field  or  Leiter 
transaction  was  always  an  occasion  for  a  column  or  more 
of  speculation  into  the  possible  future  of  the  locality  that 
had  been  so  fortunate  as  to  receive  cither's  attention. 

MARSHALL  FIELD  &  CO.,  SUCCESSORS  TO  FIELD,  LEITER  &  CO. 

When,  in  1881,  there  was  a  dissolution  of  partnership, 
the  news  did  not  reach  the  newspaper  offices  till  late  in  the 
evening.  I  had  retired  for  the  night,  when  an  A.  D.  T. 
messenger  made  a  furious  assault  on  the  door  bell. 
Through  him  a  note  from  the  city  editor  apprised  me  of 
the  dissolution,  and  asked  what  I  could  contribute  in  the 
way  of  data  about  their  partnership,  as  well  as  individual 
real-estate  holdings.  This  was  so  directly  in  my  line,  that 
from  memory  I  was  able  to  give  a  complete  inventory,  the 
share  of  each  approximating  to  $3,000,000,  on  the  basis 
of  the  purchase  price. 

The  following  day  I  received  a  note  from  Mr.  Storey 
informing  me  that  Mr.  Field  had  sent  word  that  he  desired 
to  see  the  compiler  of  said  real-estate  values.  I  fully  ex- 
pected a  compliment,  but  instead  was  met  by  an  Olympian 
frown,  and  the  query:  "Mr.  Cook,  what  possessed  you  to 
give  those  details  about  our  business?"  I  answered  in 
some  amazement  that  I  could  see  no  reason  for  not  doing 
so  —  that  it  was  certainly  legitimate  news  matter.  "Well, 
you  shouldn't  have  done  it,"  he  continued.  "We  have 
been  large  patrons  of  the  TimeSj  and  the  paper  should 
have  considered  our  interests  more."  I  frankly  informed 
him  that  Mr.  Storey  did  not  expect  us  to  consult  the 
counting-room  when  it  came  to  a  matter  of  news;  and 
it  was  only  after  I  had  pressed  him  for  the  specific  grounds 


THE  BUSINESS  CENTRE  191 

of  his  objection  to  publicity  regarding  his  real-estate  hold- 
ings, that  he  surprised  me  with  the  answer  that  he  "did 
not  care  being  made  a  target  for  socialists  to  fire  at,"  — 
whether  with  verbal,  paper,  or  leaden  missiles,  he  failed 
to  say. 

This  incident  goes  far  to  explain  the  country's  amaze- 
ment when  informed  that  Marshall  Field  died  worth 
$80,000,000.  It  is  generally  assumed  that  the  socialistic 
propaganda  is  rapidly  spreading.  Yet  the  fact  is  that 
more  than  thirty  years  ago  the  socialist  candidate  for 
Mayor,  Dr.  Schmidt,  polled  something  like  one-sixth  of 
the  entire  vote,  —  a  proportion,  it  is  safe  to  say,  not  at- 
tained at  any  time  since  by  a  socialistic  candidate. 

In  view  of  the  extraordinary  success  of  the  house  of 
Field,  Leiter  &  Co.,  and  its  successor,  Marshall  Field  &  Co., 
it  would  be  interesting  if  one  could  estimate  at  their  true 
value  the  factors  that  went  to  the  making  of  this  success  — 
whether,  for  example,  the  preponderance  rests  with  the 
character  of  its  personnel,  or  the  exceptional  opportunities 
afforded  by  their  environment.  How  Mr.  Leiter  would 
have  proportioned  the  credit  is  hardly  in  doubt.  For  a 
number  of  years  following  the  crushing  panic  of  1873,  it 
fell  to  me  to  interview  the  leading  business  men  twice  a 
year  for  a  semi-annual  exposition  of  the  city's  reviving 
trade.  On  one  of  these  rounds,  when  business  was  on  the 
"boom"  again,  and  Mr.  Leiter  had  enlightened  me  on  the 
extraordinary  volume  the  house  was  doing  (he,  at  any  rate, 
had  no  socialistic  spectres  before  his  eyes,  that  made  targets 
of  too-sudden  millionaires),  I  took  occasion  to  remark 
that  he  and  Mr.  Field  were  fortunate  in  making  their 
business  start  in  Chicago.  To  this  Mr.  Leiter  strongly 
demurred,  and  gave  it  as  his  opinion,  if  circumstances  had 


192  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

started  Mr.  Field  and  himself  together  in  New  York,  their 
foresight  and  mastery  of  system  would  have  resulted  in  a 
still  greater  success. 

CONTRAST  BETWEEN  BUILDINGS  OF  1862  AND  THOSE  OF 

TO-DAY 

But  it  is  time  to  return  to  our  observation  of  the  status 
of  1862,  before  any  of  the  changes  brought  to  notice  had 
taken  place.  Looking  down  upon  the  scene  from  an  alti- 
tude twice  the  height  of  any  other  skyward  projection,  — 
barring  distant  grain  elevators,  a  few  church  steeples,  and  a 
gaunt  shot  tower  in  the  neighborhood  of  Lake  and 
Desplaines  Streets, — an  observer  cannot  fail  to  be  struck 
by  the  extraordinary  difference  in  this  aspect  to  what  a  view 
from  the  modern  city's  tallest  skyscraper  reveals.  The 
scene  to-day  suggests  a  multitude  of  sky-piercing  peaks, 
separated  by  yawning  chasms;  whereas  the  roof  surface 
of  fifty  years  ago  resembled  a  plateau  raised  somewhat 
above  a  plain,  and  occasionally  broken  by  slight  protuber- 
ances. We  note  that  the  Lake  Street  skyline  is  almost 
as  uniform  as  a  regulated  Paris  boulevard,  or  a  brownstone 
cross-street  vista  in  New  York.  The  usual  height  is  four 
stories,  and  this  is  pretty  evenly  maintained  all  over  the 
business  section,  the  exceptions  being  hotels,  and  a  few  iron 
constructions  then  of  a  comparatively  recent  date. 

THE   city's   iron   AGE 

The  period  that  came  to  a  sudden  close  with  the  panic 
of  1857  —  only  one  of  half  a  dozen  and  more  distinct 
stages  or  cycles  of  development  in  the  city's  short  history 
—  may  be  called  its  "iron  age,"  for  most  of  the  buildings 
and  blocks  erected  in  the  middle  fifties,  in  a  time  of  extreme 
inflation,  were  of  iron,  and  commonly  five  stories  in  height. 


i 


THE  BUSINESS  CENTRE  193 

A  notable  example  of  this  class  was  the  Burch  block,  at 
Lake  Street  and  Wabash  Avenue,  whose  destruction,  with 
contents  (S.  C.  Griggs  &  Co.,  booksellers,  being  the  chief 
occupants),  by  fire  in  1868  entailed  a  loss  of  two  million 
dollars,  up  to  that  time  the  heaviest  single  fire  loss  in  the 
history  of  the  city;  and  it  was  followed  within  a  year  by 
another,  the  J.  V.  Farwell  fire,  which  entailed  a  still  greater 
loss.  These  two  were  in  a  way  "curtain  raisers"  preceding 
the  cataclysmic  drama  of  1871.  Another  similar  construc- 
tion was  the  Gilbert  Hubbard  &  Co.  building,  of  which  a 
wTiter  spoke,  in  the  hyperbole  of  the  period,  as  "that  mas- 
sive iron  structure  of  architectural  grandeur,  which  will 
defy  the  desolation  of  time,  and  the  spoil  of  ages,  on  the 
corner  of  South  Water  and  Wells  Streets."  Still  another 
stood  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Randolph  and  Wells 
(Fifth  Avenue) ;  and  while  this,  known  as  the  Lloyd  block, 
proved  something  of  an  elephant,  so  far  west  and  south,  it 
was  chiefly  known  for  the  Sunday-night  dances  on  its  great 
upper  floor.  This  floor  was  also  used  for  military  drills, 
and  was  notably  in  demand  when,  in  the  middle  sixties, 
O'Mahony's  Fenian  army  was  mobilized  for  the  invasion 
of  Canada. 

THE   CITY'S   MARBLE   AGE 

The  "iron  age"  was  followed  by  the  Lamont  "marble 
age,"  vestiges  of  which  are  still  in  plentiful  evidence.  The 
opening  of  the  Lockport-Lamont  quarries  was  an  event  of 
importance,  and  gave  a  sudden  quietus  to  the  use  of  iron 
for  exteriors,  as  well  as  the  importation  from  afar  of  other 
material,  save  for  decorative  purposes.  When,  in  the  early 
fifties,  the  first  instalment  of  the  Court  House  was  pro- 
jected, the  stone  was  brought  all  the  way  from  Lockport, 
New  York.  When,  however,  a  decade  or  more  later,  it 
was  proposed  to  provide  the  house  with  wings  (perchance 


104  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

to  typify  the  city's  soaring  ambition),  material  from  the 
quarries  at  Lockport  or  Lamont,  Illinois,  proved  a  good 
substitute. 

Chicago's  excellent  hotels 

Until  the  incoming  of  the  modern  office  skyscraper,  the 
tallest  constructions  from  time  immemorial  were  pyramids, 
temples,  churches,  capitols,  and  in  more  modern  times, 
hotels.  The  Court  House  dome,  grain  elevators,  and 
church  steeples  excepted,  it  was  the  hostelries  that  relieved 
the  perspective  in  the  Chicago  of  1862.  Almost  from  its 
earliest  beginnings,  when  Mark  Beaubien  "kept  tavern 
like  the  devil"  and  played  the  fiddle  in  similar  fashion  to 
distract  the  attention  of  patrons  from  table  shortcomings, 
Chicago  was  noted  for  the  size  and  excellence  of  its  car- 
avansaries. Where  other  cities  of  its  magnitude  —  when  it 
had,  say,  100,000  inhabitants  —  pointed  with  pride  to  one, 
or  at  the  most  two,  hotels  of  the  first  class  (as  Cincin- 
natians  did  to  the  Burnett  House,  and  St.  Louisians  to  the 
Old  Planters  and  Southern),  Chicago  could  boast  half  a 
dozen  of  equal  pretensions,  and  certainly  two  that  were 
their  superiors.  When  the  Sherman  House  was  opened,  in 
1860,  it  had  few  equals  in  the  country;  the  Tremont,  under 
mine  host  John  B.  Drake,  challenged  comparison  with  the 
best;  while  the  Richmond  House,  on  South  Water  Street 
and  Michigan  Avenue,  before  the  Sherman  was  opened, 
was  esteemed  the  most  exclusive;  and  it  was  there  that 
King  Edward,  as  the  Prince  of  Wales,  was  entertained. 
Next  in  order  came  the  Briggs  House,  with  the  Metro- 
politan, on  the  southwest  corner,  opposite,  a  close  follower ; 
while  the  Matteson,  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Randolph 
and  Dearborn,  the  City  Hotel,  at  the  southwest  corner  of 
State   and  Lake   Streets,   and  the  Adams   House  and 


1^. 

I 

bifl 

^  » 

V 

By  Courti'sy  of  the  CIiicaKo  Historical  Society 


THE  TREMONT  HOUSE 


By  Courtesy  of  the  Chicajfo  Jiistorical  socieiy 

THE    SHERMAN    HOUSE 


THE  BUSINESS  CENTOE  195 

Massasoit  House,  still  farther  east,  all  enjoyed  excellent 
reputations.  The  Massasoit  was  built  by  the  Gage  broth- 
ers, and  it  was  from  here  they  went  to  the  Tremont,  and 
subsequently  to  the  Sherman.  Several  of  these  buildings 
were  six  stories  in  height,  and  the  others,  with  a  single  ex- 
ception, five.  There  were  yet  other  good  third-rate  hotels, 
like  the  Garden  City,  northeast  corner  of  Madison  and 
Market  Streets;  and  finally,  some  excellent  family  hotels, 
though  this  feature,  now  so  important,  was  as  yet  in  its 
infancy. 

There  was  still  — in  some  class,  perhaps  the  sixth  —  the 
old  Lake  House,  corner  of  Rush  and  Kinzie  Streets, 
opened  in  1835,  and  once  the  pride  of  the  West,  sharing 
with  the  Astor  House  in  New  York  a  reputation  for  enter- 
taining old-time  celebrities,  including  such  lights  as  Daniel 
Webster,  General  Scott,  and  Governor  Cass.  It  was  a 
four-story  brick.  Later  it  received  an  addition,  and  was 
then  about  seventy-five  feet  square.  It  was  built  at  a  time 
when  there  was  sharp  rivalry  for  supremacy  between  the 
north  and  south  divisions,  and  its  promoters  entertained 
the  hope  that  this  piece  of  enterprise  would  effectually  stop 
the  exodus  to  the  south  division. 

SCARCITY  OF  FACTORIES  AND  OTHER  LARGE  BUILDINGS 

Away  from  the  business  centre,  looking  southward  be- 
yond Washington  Street,  there  are  in  the  year  1862  few 
constructions  of  note  to  challenge  attention,  aside  from 
McVicker's  Theatre,  on  its  present  site,  and  the  Post 
Office,  where  now  stands  the  First  National  Bank  building. 
Michigan  Avenue,  however,  as  far  as  Harrison  Street, 
looms  quite  boldly  —  in  similitude  of  a  sea  wall  —  the 
most  conspicuous  buildings  being  the  so-called  "Bishop's 
Palace,"  corner  of  Madison,  and  the  "Marble  Terrace," 


196  /  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

a  solid  block  of  half  a  score  of  "palaces,"  of  Lamont  stone, 
four  stories  in  height,  where  the  Auditorium  now  stands. 

Only  a  few  manufactories  rise  to  any  pretension  at  the 
period  of  this  sketch.  Notable  among  these  are  the 
McCormick  reaper  factory,  on  the  north  bank  of  the  main 
river,  near  Rush  Street  bridge;  Peter  Schuttler's  wagon 
factory,  southwest  corner  of  Randolph  and  Franklin 
Streets ;  Goss  &  Phillips's  Sash  and  Door  Factory,  Clark 
and  Twelfth  Streets;  the  Oriental  Flouring  Mill,  on  the 
west  bank  of  the  river,  at  Madison  Street  bridge;  and  P. 
W.  Gates's  Foundry,  somewhere  near  the  western  mouth 
of  the  Washington  Street  tunnel.  Obviously  Chicago  is 
not  yet  much  of  a  manufacturing  centre;  and,  while  an 
important  railroad  confluence,  all  the  stations  except  that 
of  the  Illinois  Central,  at  the  foot  of  Lake  Street,  are  mere 
wooden  rookeries. 

One  other  structure  must  be  noted.  It  is  the  huge 
"Wigwam"  in  which  Abraham  Lincoln  was  nominated, 
on  Market  Street  between  Randolph  and  Lake  Streets, 
facing  the  river.  Its  street  floor  is  at  this  time  occupied  by 
produce  and  feed  stores.  Opposite  this  stands  the  Lind 
block,  the  only  building  in  the  South  Side  "burnt  district" 
that  escaped  destruction. 


AN  "OLDEST  SETTLER"  CELEBRATION 

The  Silver  Wedding  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gurdon  S.  Hubbard  —  Mr. 
Hubbard  in  his  Youth  —  Hubbard,  Lincoln,  and  Douglas  — 
Early  Business  Experiences — Newspaper  Paragraphs  on  the 
Silver  Wedding^ — A  Notable  Gathering  —  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Archibald  Clybourne  —  The  Clybourne  Mansion  —  An  In- 
dian Alarm  —  Mrs.  Clybourne  as  a  Heroine  —  A  Famous 
Feast. 

AN  event  of  more  than  passing  interest  in  the  per- 
sonal history  of  one  who  for  several  decades  was 
Chicago's  oldest  settler  —  and  of  significance  to  the 
entire  population,  as  a  mile-stone  in  the  meteoric  career 
of  the  city  —  was  the  celebration,  in  1868,  by  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Gurdon  S.  Hubbard,  of  their  silver  wedding.  It 
occurred  just  fifty  golden  years  from  the  date  of  the 
bridegroom's  arrival,  as  a  youngster  of  sixteen,  on  the 
reed-grown  shore  now  peopled  by  two  and  a  half  million 
souls;  and  which,  in  1818,  was  the  abode  of  but  a  single 
white  family  outside  of  the  stockade  known  to  history  as 
Fort  Dearborn. 

Not  only  was  it  the  most  talked-about  social  event  of 
the  season,  but  it  was  regarded  as  the  leading  incident  — 
of  the  sort  where  all  the  factors  were  of  local  contribu- 
tion—  in  the  festive  annals  of  the  city.  The  Hubbards, 
though  in  a  way  simple  people,  occupied  an  assured  social 
position,  and  were  beloved  by  everybody.  Their  ante-fire 
home,  one  of  the  finest  in  the  city  —  a  detached  mansion 
of  generous  proportions  on  North  La  Salle  Street,  corner 
of  Whitney,  and  at  the  head  of  Locust  Street  —  was  the 

197 


198  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

centre  of  an  open-hearted  as  well  as  open-handed  hospi- 
tality. These  good  people  were  ever  "at  home,"  in  the 
truest  sense,  to  all  who  had  in  any  manner  an  old-settler 
claim  to  recognition;  which  not  every  old  family  recog- 
nized as  sufficient  to  counterbalance  any  shortcomings  in 
social  directions,  but  then  Mr.  Hubbard,  as  chief  among 
the  city's  patriarchs,  might  do  as  he  would.  While  of 
the  exclusive  North  Side  set,  the  Hubbards  were  by  no 
means  confined  to  it,  but  continued  in  neighborly  touch 
with  all  who  could  look  back  to  a  time  when  the  social 
life  of  the  city  was  a  primitive  solidarity. 

In  respect  to  means  the  Hubbards  occupied  a  com- 
fortable middle  place,  being  easily  among  the  well-to-do, 
but  not  classed  with  those  other  old  settlers,  the  Ogdens 
and  the  Newberrys,  the  Magees  and  the  Fullers,  the  Pecks 
and  the  Wentworths,  the  Cobbs  and  the  Laflins.  For  this 
Mr.  Hubbard  had  been  too  much  of  a  leader  in  all  new 
departures  for  the  city's  development  —  had  too  fre- 
quently paid  for  the  seed,  while  others  waited  until  the 
harvest  was  assured  before  venturing  into  the  field;  and 
later,  through  losses  by  the  great  fire,  his  means,  while 
always  sufficient  for  his  own  and  his  family's  well-being, 
were  yet  measurably  circumscribed. 

While  the  celebration  of  the  silver  wedding  was  in 
all  respects  an  event  to  evoke  the  most  pleasurable  mem- 
ories (and  of  which  more  anon),  I  look  back  with  even 
greater  personal  satisfaction  to  the  evening  before  the  fes- 
tivities, which  by  journalistic  favor  it  was  my  good  fortune 
to  pass  in  the  company  of  this  interesting  couple,  in  a 
home  atmosphere  of  free  and  genial  reminiscence.  Mrs. 
Hubbard  was  the  quiet,  intelligent,  tactful  matron,  whose 
sympathetic  nature  found  ready  access  to  the  hearts  of  the 
young.     Mr.   Hubbard,  while  an  embodiment   of  self- 


By  Courtesy  of  the  Chicago  Ilistoricul  Society 


GURDON    S.   HUBBARD 

(The  Famous  Fur-trader,  Friend  of  the  Indian,  and  Pioneer 
Settler;  arrived  in   1818) 


AN  "OLDEST  SETTLER"  CELEBRATION  199 

contained  geniality,  was  unconsciously  a  master  of  un- 
premeditated dramatic  narrative,  that  took  hold  of  the 
listener  as  much  by  what  native  modesty  withheld,  as  by 
what  was  so  quietly  yet  saliently  revealed.  In  a  some- 
what extensive  elbow  acquaintance  with  masterful  men, 
few  have  impressed  me  as  did  this  incarnate  epitome  of  all 
that  Chicago  from  its  origin  to  its  present  greatness 
typifies. 

ME.  HUBBARD  IN  HIS  YOUTH 

At  an  age  when  most  lads,  if  studiously  inclined,  are 
still  conning  its  printed  page,  young  Hubbard  had 
already  begun  to  make  history.  Great  responsibilities, 
under  most  trying  conditions,  were  his  while  yet  in  his 
teens.  A  keen  observer,  he  weighed  in  the  balance  of  a 
natural  equipoise  all  the  elements  of  a  situation,  and 
readily  coordinated  and  assimilated  its  salient  points.  He 
was  a  recognized  and  accepted  leader  among  his  white  and 
mongrel  entourage  from  the  start;  and  the  equal  of  any 
Indian  in  those  specialties  that  determine  leadership 
among  them.  Indeed,  he  proved  time  and  again,  that  as 
a  long-distance  runner  —  a  role  in  which  the  trained  red 
man  of  that  period  was  supposed  to  have  no  equal  —  there 
was  not  his  match  in  all  the  Illinois  tribes.  He  had  the 
red  man's  freedom  of  carriage,  that  easy,  graceful  lift  in 
his  walk,  that  marks  the  wearer  of  the  moccasin. 

While  the  Caucasian  at  his  best  was  ever  dominant  in 
Mr.  Hubbard,  certain  acquired  Indian  characteristics 
nevertheless  occasionally  revealed  themselves  to  the  last. 
A  striking  alertness  in  his  bodily  movements  had  its  com- 
plement in  a  substratum  of  mental  wariness,  clearly  a 
resultant  of  the  exacting  environment  of  his  younger  days. 
Not  obtrusively,  nor  in  the  least  suspiciously,  but  just 
by  second  nature,  he  would  unconsciously  vouchsafe  in- 


200  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

teresting  glimpses  of  his  Indian  "double,"  giving  to  one 
psychologically  inclined  the  impression  that,  while  the 
guileless,  frank-hearted,  debonair  white  man  was  giving 
himself  unreservedly  into  the  hands  of  the  Philistine,  the 
assimilated  red  man  in  him  would  see  to  it  —  at  least  in 
his  pow-wows  with  a  member  of  the  newspaper  tribe  — 
that  the  scalps  were  equitably  divided. 

HUBBARD,    LINCOLN,    AND    DOUGLAS 

In  his  reserves  of  power,  resourcefulness,  and  native 
ability,  this  stalwart  character  reminded  one  strongly  of 
his  friend  Abraham  Lincoln.  These  two  thoroughly  un- 
derstood, admired,  and  trusted  each  other.  On  the  even- 
ing to  which  I  have  referred,  Mr.  Hubbard  spoke  of  the 
dead  President  with  unaffected  tenderness.  He  recounted 
a  number  of  incidents  in  which  Lincoln  bore  a  part,  and 
related  with  special  satisfaction  how  "Uncle  Abe"  and 
the  "Little  Giant"  were  once  brought  into  amiable  fra- 
ternization, at  a  time  when  their  political  relations,  to  say 
the  least,  were  considerably  strained. 

During  the  memorable  senatorial  debate  between  these 
Titans,  in  1858,  it  so  happened,  that  while  Mr.  Lincoln 
was  the  guest  of  the  Hubbards,  Senator  Douglas  was 
entertained  by  Judge  Corydon  Beckwith,  their  next-door 
neighbor.  None  in  either  house  had  foreknowledge  of 
the  interesting  coincidence,  and  only  discovered  the  situ- 
ation when,  in  the  cool  of  the  evening,  both  families,  as 
was  their  wont,  sought  relief  from  sultry  interiors  on 
their  ample  piazzas.  When  the  antagonists,  to  their 
surprise,  caught  sight  of  each  other,  they  bridged  the  po- 
htical  chasm  with  hearty,  friendly  greetings,  each  leader 
vying  with  the  other  in  making  the  incident  an  enjoyable 
social  interlude  in  the  most  memorable  political  contest  in 
the  history  of  the  country. 


AN  "OLDEST  SETTLER"  CELEBRATION  201 

EARLY  BUSINESS  EXPERIENCES 

Mr.  Hubbard  was  born  in  1802,  at  Windsor,  Vt.  At 
fourteen  he  was  already  in  business  for  himself.  He  had 
frequently  crossed  the  border  into  Canada,  and  finally 
brought  up  in  Montreal,  then  the  headquarters  of  the 
American  Fur  Company.  At  sixteen  he  became  an  agent 
of  the  Company,  with  headquarters  at  Mackinac.  In 
charge  of  a  crew  of  voyagers  he  frequently  coasted  along 
the  western  shore  of  Lake  Michigan,  trading  with  the  In- 
dians; and  in  1818,  entered  the  mouth  of  the  creek,  which 
is  to-day  one  of  the  world's  greatest  harbors.  When  in 
a  reminiscent  mood,  and  geographically  inchned,  Mr. 
Hubbard  was  wont  to  show  his  visitors  a  private  map  of 
the  Chicago  of  that  date,  illustrated  with  two  and  one- 
half  habitations,  all  told.  One  was  the  stockade  called 
Fort  Dearborn,  and  then  occupied  quite  recently  after  a 
lapse  of  years  following  the  massacre  of  1812;  another, 
the  log  house  of  the  Indian  trader  John  Kinzie;  and  the 
half  was  a  tumble-down  affair  occupied  by  a  French 
squawman.  Mr.  Hubbard  made  one  or  two  journeys  to 
St.  Louis,  then  an  important  trading  centre,  with  a 
thousand  or  more  permanent  settlers;  but  his  most  fre- 
quent trips  were  made  to  the  Wabash,  and  the  route  he 
travelled  over  more  than  fifty  times,  became  generally 
known  as  "Hubbard's  trail."  In  the  later  twenties  he 
quit  the  Company,  and  did  a  trading  business  with  the 
Indians  on  his  own  account,  one  of  his  caravans  containing 
as  many  as  fifty  pack  ponies.  When,  in  1830,  Mr.  Hub- 
bard finally  made  Chicago  his  permanent  home,  he  imme- 
diately took  a  leading  part,  and  within  two  years  was 
elected  to  the  Legislature,  which  then  met  at  Vandalia. 
He  there  met  his  first  wife,  who  died  in  1838. 

Before  1830  nearly  all  Chicago's  business  was  done  on 


202  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

the  North  Side.  Mr.  Hubbard,  however,  favored  the 
South  Side  (though  always  a  resident  of  the  north  divi- 
sion), and  was  the  first  to  build  a  warehouse  in  the  new 
section,  on  South  Water  Street.  He  also  went  into  the 
packing  business,  and  in  1835  shipped  the  first  barrel  of 
beef  from  Chicago,  and  he  remained  in  the  packing  busi- 
ness for  more  than  a  third  of  a  century. 

A  TRANSACTION   IN  REAL  ESTATE 

Mr.  Hubbard  owned  considerable  real  estate  at  times, 
and  as  an  instance  showing  how  values  rose  in  the  craze 
of  1836-37,  he  cited  his  purchase,  in  1832,  of  eighty  feet 
front  on  the  northeast  corner  of  Lake  and  La  Salle 
Streets,  running  back  so  as  to  include  the  same  width  on 
South  Water,  for  one  hundred  and  thirty  dollars.  He 
built  thereon  the  first  brick  business  structure  in  the  city, 
and  it  was  occupied  by  the  State  Bank  of  Illinois.  This 
plot,  with  the  building  worth  about  ten  thousand  dollars, 
he  sold  in  1836  for  eighty  thousand,  a  transaction  probably 
with  few  parallels  in  the  annals  of  real  estate.  Mr.  Hub- 
bard was  also  one  of  the  builders  and  owners  of  the  Lake 
House,  which  in  1835  was  the  only  brick  hotel  in  the  city, 
and  the  most  noted  and  best  caravansary  in  the  West. 

During  the  Black  Hawk  War  Mr.  Hubbard  raised  a 
regiment.  However,  before  it  could  take  the  field  the 
scrimmage  was  over.  It  was  in  this  war  that  young 
Lincoln  also  made  a  futile  attempt  to  smell  powder. 

When,  in  1828,  the  Winnebagoes  became  restless,  and 
the  destruction  of  what  there  was  of  Chicago  was  threat- 
ened, such  possible  calamity  was  averted  by  the  daring 
of  young  Hubbard.  Unattended,  he  sped  through  the  hos- 
tile country  to  the  Wabash,  and  succeeded  in  bringing  the 
forces  of  General  Atkinson  to  the  assistance  of  the  settle- 


AN  "OLDEST  SETTLER"  CELEBRATION  203 

ment.  Mr.  Hubbard  was  one  of  the  originators  and  chief 
promoters  of  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal.  When  its 
construction  was  entered  upon,  he  was  appointed  the  first 
commissioner,  and  all  the  earlier  deeds  of  transfer  bear 
his  signature.  At  sixty-six  Mr.  Hubbard  was  still  in  his 
prime.  Indeed,  his  son  (by  a  former  marriage) ,  a  stalwart 
in  his  thirties,  made  confession  to  me  that  his  father  was 
more  active  than  himself,  and  could  still,  if  so  minded,  give 
him  a  sound  thrashing. 

HOW   HUBBARD   WAS   ESTEEMED 

These  glimpses  of  Mr.  Hubbard  at  different  times, 
and  in  many  fields  of  exploitation  and  activity,  reveal  his 
many-sided  and  forceful  character.  And  to  show  how 
he  was  esteemed  in  the  Chicago  of  his  ripened  manhood, 
I  shall  quote  the  introductory  paragraphs  to  my  account 
of  the  silver  wedding,  which  I  have  come  upon,  much  to 
my  surprise,  in  an  old  scrapbook.  Incidentally  they  also 
show  how  Chicago  regarded  itself  in  those  days : 

"One  of  the  most  notable  events  in  the  personal  history  of  Chi- 
cago took  place  last  evening.  The  Garden  City,  in  the  pride  of  her 
three  hundred  thousand  inhabitants,  reverted  joyfully  to  its  begin- 
nings ;  and,  standing  in  fancy  on  the  reed-grown  shore  of  Lake  Michi- 
gan, shook  by  the  hand  the  daring  pioneer,  who,  though  among  the 
first  to  follow  the  red  man's  trail  hereabouts,  still  lives  in  the  pres- 
ent, the  remotest  link  that  connects  the  powerful  city  of  to-day  with 
its  aboriginal  past.  The  occasion  was  the  silver  wedding  of  our  oldest 
settler,  Gurdon  S.  Hubbard,  on  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  his  advent 
on  these  shores.  Half  a  century  may  be  relatively  a  long  or  a  very 
short  period.  When  it  is  counted  in  the  span  of  a  single  life,  it  as- 
sumes formidable  proportions,  and  generally  embraces  the  greater  part 
thereof;  but  when  it  comes  within  the  existence  of  a  populous  city,  it 
is  usually  of  comparatively  small  account.  In  this  instance  one  hardly 
knows  which  to  marvel  at  the  more,  that  a  single  individual,  still  in  his 
prime,  should  have  witnessed  so  much,  or  that  so  much  should  have 


204  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

been  accomplished  in  so  brief  a  period.    Modern  history  furnishes  no 
parallel.* 

"It  was  meet  that  so  marked  an  occasion  be  commemorated  in  some 
special  manner.  It  would  have  been  unpardonable  in  a  family  so 
identified  with  the  city's  beginnings,  had  its  rejoicings  been  confined 
to  the  home  circle;  for  whatever  pertains  to  the  early  history  of  the 
Garden  City  is  like  a  leaf  in  the  life-book  of  each  of  her  citizens. 
None  in  point  of  time,  and  few  in  works  that  shall  endure,  are  so  pauch 
a  veritable  part  of  the  progress  and  prosperity  of  our  city  as  Mr. 
Gurdon  S.  Hubbard;  and  a  large  proportion  of  those  among  the  living 
who  fought  the  early  battle  by  his  side  enjoyed  his  hospitality  last 
evening.  It  was  truly  a  gathering  of  the  seed  now  ripened  into  golden 
harvest.  The  residence  of  Mr.  Hubbard  is  one  of  the  finest  in  the  city. 
Last  evening  its  spacious  parlors  were  crowded  to  their  utmost,  and  a 
happier  gathering  Chicago  has  never  witnessed.  The  old-timers  had 
met  and  mingled  but  little  of  late  years,  and  the  occasion  was  therefore 
in  the  nature  of  a  general  reunion  of  old  settlers;  and  if  not  actually 
the  first,  it  was  certainly  the  most  important,  both  in  numbers  and  in- 
terest, in  the  history  of  the  city." 

The  exploitation  of  any  event  of  magnitude  by  the 
community's  organs  of  publicity  may  go  far,  even  by  its 
defaults,  to  illustrate  in  manifold  ways  the  difference  in 
manners  and  customs  that  distinguish  one  generation  from 
another.  Because  of  the  notable  character  of  the  gather- 
ing, comprising  as  it  did  about  all  who  were  historically 
associated  with  the  city  (and  at  this  period  such  a  roll 
included  nearly  all  distinguished  for  other  reasons),  one 
would  now  like  to  scan  a  list  of  the  people  who  made  the 
occasion  so  memorable.  But,  alas!  none  was  appended. 
Per  contra^  if  in  this  year  of  grace,  a  reporter  assigned 
to  so  important  a  function  came  away  without  a  fairly 
complete  list  of  well-known  people  present,  it  would  be 

*  While  all  this  is  true  enough,  it  is  simply  insignificant  when  compared  with 
the  later  fact,  that  there  are  those  still  living,  in  the  Chicago  with  2,500,000  in- 
habitants, who  were  of  the  town  when  it  had  fewer  people  than  may  now  be  found 
under  the  roof  of  one  of  its  skyscrapers. 


AN  "OLDEST  SETTLER"  CELEBRATION  205 

taken  for  granted  that  he  was  seeking  for  an  excuse  to 
give  up  his  job.  And  so  an  interesting  inquiry  would  be: 
"Have  the  people  changed  the  papers?  Have  the  papers 
changed  the  people?  Or  was  it  all  a  mistake  in  those  days 
to  assume  that  folks  shied  at  publicity?" 

A    NOTABLE    GATHEEING 

The  period  was  peculiarly  one  of  change  from  the  old 
to  the  new.  The  abnormal  prosperity  that  followed  upon 
the  .war  was  at  full  tide.  There  had  been  a  great  influx 
of  new  people, —  not  a  few  scions  of  old  families,  and  men 
of  fashion, —  and  so  the  manners  and  customs  of  older 
communities  were  gradually  finding  acceptance  in  quarters 
where  but  a  few  years  before  they  had  been  regarded  with 
feelings  of  positive  aversion.  Hence  a  goodly  proportion 
among  those  present  had  risen  at  the  behests  of  fashion  to 
"cut  monkey-shines  in  swallow-tails,"  to  say  nothing  of 
their  staid  spouses  appearing  in  evening  toilettes.  And  so 
the  display  of  costumes  at  this  reception  was  in  a  way  a  re- 
flex of  the  various  stages  of  the  city's  development;  from 
the  deer-skin  dress  of  the  primitive  hunter  (in  which  several 
appeared,  to  typify  the  host's  youthful  environment)  to 
the  latest  cut  in  evening  dress. 

The  old  settlers  of  Chicago  were  an  exceptionally  fine 
body  of  men  —  many  uniting  in  their  persons  the  distinc- 
tion of  good  breeding  with  the  off-hand  manner  born  of  the 
early  free  life  of  the  West.  Good  examples  of  this  blend, 
all  in  their  prime,  were  Judges  Mark  Skinner  and  J.  D. 
Caton,  Dr.  C.  V.  Dyer,  and  Mahlon  D.  Ogden;  while  in 
marked  contrast  to  these,  and  attracting  more  notice  than 
even  "Long  John"  Went  worth  (ever  in  all  respects  in  a 
class  by  himself),  was  Mark  Beaubien,  of  early  hotel- 
keeping  and  fiddling  fame ;  a  keen-eyed,  sun-tanned,  quiz- 


206  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

zical  old  Frenchman,  a  genuine  "left-over"  from  the  mon- 
grel rough-and-ready  period. 

MR.    AND    MRS.    ARCHIBALD    CLYBOURNE 

Among  others  who  drew  the  attention  of  the  assem- 
blage —  though  in  no  wise  because  they  sought  it  —  were 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Archibald  Clybourne,  the  former  after  Mr. 
Hubbard  the  oldest  settler.  Mr.  Clybourne  arrived  at  the 
settlement  in  1823,  remained  a  year,  returned  to  Virginia, 
came  back  the  following  j^ear  with  his  parents,  and  there- 
after became  a  fixture  at  New  Virginia  or  Virginiaville,  as 
the  region  roundabout  the  North  Side  rolling  mills  came 
to  be  known.  Mrs.  Clybourne,  as  Mary  Galloway,  came 
with  her  parents  as  a  girl  of  fourteen,  from  Sandusky, 
Ohio,  in  1826,  and  was  married  in  1829.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Clybourne  were  fine  examples  of  the  American  pioneer: 
the  man,  self-contained,  energetic,  resourceful ;  the  woman, 
helpful,  motherly,  uncomplaining,  of  unwearying  good- 
nature and  undaunted  courage.  To  the  last  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Clybourne  remained  plain  people,  though  in  1836  they 
built  and  occupied  what  was  perhaps  the  most  pretentious 
brick  mansion  in  the  settlement  —  to  remain  for  many  dec- 
ades a  looming  landmark  in  a  locality  that  in  time  came 
to  be  filled  up  chiefly  by  the  grimy  cottages  of  rolling-mill 
employees.  Mrs.  Clybourne,  as  a  type  of  the  pioneer 
bride,  wife,  and  mother,  deserves  to  be  immortalized  in 
bronze;  for  it  is  from  such  primal  sources  that  the  virile 
virtues  are  drawn  through  which  States  endure. 

THE   CLYBOURNE   MANSION 

After  the  fire  the  Clybourne  mansion  was  the  oldest 
brick  building  in  the  city;  and,  with  the  exception  of  a 
tumble-down  affair  on  the  corner  of  Lake  and  Canal 


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AN  "OLDEST  SETTLER"  CELEBRATION  207 

Streets,  the  oldest  construction  of  any  kind.  It  was  built 
of  brick  manufactured  near  its  site,  so  Mrs.  Clybourne 
informed  me,  by  Francis  C.  Sherman,  five  times  a  candi- 
date and  three  times  elected  Mayor,  and  the  owner  of  the 
Sherman  House.  It  was  quite  a  pretentious  structure, 
and,  as  it  had  been  built  in  the  open  without  reference  to 
any  possible  future  platting  (which  did  not  take  place  till 
almost  thirty  years  later) ,  it  refused  to  fit  in  with  the  sub- 
sequent arrangement  of  streets.  Toward  the  west  it  pre- 
sented the  appearance  of  a  plain,  two-story  brick,  with  an 
ordinary  entrance  in  the  centre ;  that  which  was  finally  the 
front  of  the  building,  facing  Elston  Avenue,  was  once  its 
side;  while  the  real  front  of  the  old-time  structure,  facing 
south  toward  the  heart  of  the  city,  displayed  a  spacious 
columned  porch  to  an  adjoining  lot. 

Nearly  a  decade  after  this  reunion  I  spent  a  most  en- 
joyable reminiscent  day  at  the  old  mansion.  Mr.  Cly- 
bourne had  joined  the  great  majority;  but  his  widow,  then 
in  her  sixty-fifth  year,  was  still  a  hearty  matron,  with  all 
her  faculties  undimmed.  She  lived  to  see  the  twentieth 
century  well  started.  It  is  pleasant  to  recall  that  fireside 
picture.  After  Mr.  Hubbard,  she  was  then  the  oldest 
settler  living  in  Chicago,  and  bore  her  honors  as  such  a 
mother  in  Israel  should.  Mrs.  Clybourne,  without  know- 
ing it,  was  a  born  story-teller.  She  had  a  natural  feeling 
for  the  dramatic  and  picturesque,  a  spontaneous  humor 
that  caught  one  unawares,  while  her  speech  was  racily 
colloquial. 

HOSPITABLE    HAEDSCRABBLE 

It  was  an  event  in  the  history  of  Chicago,  when  Mrs. 
Clybourne's  family,  the  Galloways,  arrived.  Mr.  Gallowaj- 
had  been  here  the  year  before,  thoroughly  familiarized  him- 
self with  the  conditions  roundabout,  and  had  then  returned 


208  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

to  Sandusky  for  his  family,  and  a  supply  of  goods  for 
traffic  among  the  Indians.  The  coming  of  the  goods  was, 
however,  not  to  the  liking  of  the  Fur  Company's  agent  • 
here,  and  so  Mr.  Galloway  was  not  only  denied  store  room, 
but  also  shelter  for  his  family.  Fortunately  for  Mr.  Gallo- 
way, Chicago  had  at  this  time  a  most  formidable  rival,  or 
it  might  have  gone  ill  with  him;  for  the  agent  literally 
owned  the  place.  This  rival  was  Hardscrabble.  It  con- 
sisted of  four  or  five  log  cabins — indeed,  almost  as  many  as 
Chicago  could  boast  —  and  was  located  on  the  West  Branch 
not  far  from  its  junction  with  the  South  Branch.  A  ferry 
was  there,  and  also  some  sort  of  provision  for  man  and 
beast.  Chief  Alexander  Robinson,  one  of  the  worthies  of 
that  period,  and  a  resident  of  Hardscrabble,  happened  to 
be  "downtown"  when  the  schooner  arrived.  He  had  met 
Mr.  Galloway  on  the  latter's  previous  visit;  and  with  na- 
tive hospitality  placed  at  his  disposal  one  of  his  up-river 
Hardscrabble  cabins.  Accordingly,  before  night  both 
goods  and  family  had  been  poled  in  a  scow  to  the  friendly 
Indian  shelter.  Here  the  family  remained  all  winter,  while 
Mr.  Galloway  made  frequent  excursions  to  points  on  the 
Desplaines  and  Illinois  Rivers. 

AN   INDIAN   ALAEM 

During  one  of  these  absences  a  rumor  got  abroad  that 
the  Indians  about  the  Desplaines  had  gone  on  the  war 
path.  Mr.  Galloway  was  expected  home  that  evening. 
Therefore,  when  he  failed  to  put  in  an  appearance,  Mrs. 
Galloway  and  Mary  (the  future  Mrs.  Clybourne)  jumped 
to  the  conclusion  that  he  had  been  murdered.  In  their 
terror  they  set  about  to  barricade  the  entrance  to  the  cabin, 
determined  to  defend  their  lives  to  the  utmost.  Soon  a 
fierce  blizzard  swept  across  the  prairie ;  and,  shortly  after 


AN  "OLDEST  SETTLER"  CELEBRATION  209 

midnight,  to  their  dismay,  they  heard  above  the  roar  of  the 
storm  a  variety  of  noises  that  proceeded  from  a  band  of 
Indians  seeking  shelter,  who,  when  entrance  was  denied 
them,  sought  to  force  the  door.  Loud  and  fierce  were  their 
cries,  and  ever  fiercer  raged  the  storm. 

MRS.    CLYBOUENE   AS   A   HEROINE 

Mrs.  Galloway,  rifle  in  hand,  defended  the  entrance 
by  way  of  the  door,  while  our  fourteen-year-old  heroine, 
axe  in  hand,  stood  beside  the  only  window,  instructed  to 
split  heads  as  fast  as  they  made  their  appearance.  It 
seems  that  a  band  of  Indians  had  been  long  absent  on  a 
hunting  and  trapping  expedition.  Laden  with  skins  and 
furs,  they  were  now  returning  to  the  agency ;  and,  as  they 
knew  the  Robinson  cabin  of  old  as  a  trading-post,  they 
were  exasperated  at  being  denied  admission  where  they  had 
a  right  to  look  for  a  warm  welcome.  Therefore,  the  longer 
they  were  kept  out  in  the  blizzard,  which  cut  their  faces 
like  shot  from  a  blunderbuss,  the  more  and  the  louder  they 
vociferated,  until  a  veritable  bedlam  seemed  to  have  broken 
loose.  This  particular  cabin  in  Hardscrabble  happened  to 
be  quite  a  distance  farther  from  anywhere  than  the  others, 
and  hence  the  untutored  mind  was  reluctant  to  try  else- 
where; but  at  last  the  band  was  forced  to  trudge  on  to 
Laughton's  cabin  at  the  ferry,  where  they  gave  forceful 
vent  to  their  indignation.  Appreciating  the  situation,  Mr. 
Laughton  quickly  despatched  a  young  Frenchman  to  the 
Galloway  cabin  to  explain  matters ;  but  as  this  envoy  com- 
manded little  English,  and  the  women  folks  less  French, 
they  concluded  it  was  an  Indian  playing  Frenchman,  the 
readier  to  gain  access  to  their  scalps,  and  so  continued 
desperately  to  "hold  the  fort,"  until  the  advent  of  daylight 
dispersed  the  supposed  besiegers. 


210  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

A   FAMOUS   FEAST 

By  way  of  closing  this  old-settler  topic,  it  only  re- 
mains to  add  that  a  notable  feature  of  the  Hubbard  cele- 
bration was  a  feast,  pronounced  by  all  present  to  have  had 
no  equal  up  to  that  time  in  the  festal  history  of  the  city. 
John  S.  Wright,  of  the  Opera  House  restaurant,  the  Chi- 
cago Delmonico  of  that  period,  had  received  carte  blanche 
in  its  preparation ;  and  it  was  in  all  respects  worthy  of  that 
caterer's  reputation.  In  a  way  the  table  told  the  whole 
story  of  Chicago,  and  Mr.  Hubbard's  association  with  it. 
Among  other  reminiscences  embodied  in  confection,  were 
the  old  Fort  Dearborn,  John  Kinzie's  log  cabin,  the  "one- 
half"  affair  of  the  half-breed,  and  finally  a  relief  map  of 
the  entire  city  of  1868,  with  the  Court  House  rearing  its 
proud  dome  in  the  centre. 

And  now  I  will  close  this  chapter  with  the  words  in 
which  my  narrative  of  more  than  forty  years  ago  was 
brought  to  a  conclusion : 

"What  more  can  be  said  of  an  occasion  that  stands  unrivalled 
among  the  private  social  gatherings  of  Chicago?  Many  were  the  con- 
gratulations bestowed  on  the  honored  host  and  hostess,  and  there  was 
none  present  who  would  not  wish  to  add  a  hundred  years  to  their 
lives."* 

♦  Mrs.  Hubbard  lived  for  more  than  forty  years  after  this  notable  event. 


A  MEMORABLE  ARMY  REUNION 

Chicago  Preparing  for  the  Festivity  —  Heroes  in  the  Act  of 
Hero-worship  —  Enthusiastic  Reception  of  Some  of  the 
Leaders  —  The  Addresses — The  Reporter's  Encounter  with 
General  Sherman  —  General  Logan  Turns  the  Tables  on 
Him  —  The  Latter  as  a  Politician  —  Mrs.  Logan's  Tact  and 
Popularity  —  She  Helps  the  Reporter  to  Secure  Copy  from 
THE  General,  also  Furthers  a  Romance. 

OF  the  many  occasions  in  earlier  days  when  countless 
hosts  were  drawn  to  Chicago,  not  one  looms  more 
august  in  the  background  of  memory  than  that 
efflorescence   of   the   world's   most   gigantic   internecine 
struggle,  the  great  Army  Reunion  of  1868. 

The  wars  under  Napoleon  not  only  fill  a  large  place 
in  the  perspective  of  history,  but  in  their  course  blazoned 
the  names  of  a  host  attached  to  the  conqueror's  fortunes. 
Yet,  had  it  been  possible  at  the  close  of  the  great  Corsi- 
can's  career,  to  gather  about  him  in  the  refulgence  of 
victory,  rather  than  in  the  shadow  of  the  utter  defeat  that 
was  his  final  portion,  the  galaxy  that  starred  the  firma- 
ment of  his  once  transcendent  dominion,  the  scene  thus 
imagined,  while  indubitably  more  spectacular,  would 
scarcely  have  outranked  in  terms  of  martial  achievements 
the  actual  gathering  under  the  aegis  of  unqualified  triumph, 
that  was  witnessed  in  the  Chicago  of  auld  lang  syne.  Now 
more  than  forty  years  have  passed;  and  few,  indeed,  of 
the  notable  thousands  who  contributed  to  the  glory  of  that 
memorable  spectacle  remain  among  the  living,  for  the 
lustrums  in  their  procession  move  unfalteringly  toward 
mist-enshrouded  Valhalla. 

211 


«12  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

Many  days  before  the  reunion,  Chicago  set  about  to 
deck  herself  as  for  a  marriage  feast;  and  everybody  who 
counted  for  anything  was  assigned  to  some  committee  of 
reception :  to  extend  a  welcome  to  the  whilom  heads  of  the 
four  armies  about  to  assemble ;  to  one  or  another  of  a  score 
or  more  of  corps  commanders ;  to  this,  that,  or  another  of 
almost  unnumbered  major  generals;  to  —  no,  the  line  was 
sharply  drawn  at  brigadiers,  for  this  sort,  especially  in 
brevet  form,  were  simply  legion,  and  could  count  them- 
selves fortunate  if  they  succeeded  in  capturing  a  hall  bed- 
room somewhere,  or  so  much  as  got  mentioned  among 
others  as  arrived.  No,  there  was  n't  a  bit  of  glory  in  being 
a  mere  brigadier;  while  colonels,  majors,  and  their  like, 
however  "big  injuns"  at  their  particular  "four  corners," 
here  found  none  sufficiently  lowly  to  do  them  reverence; 
and  when  an  evil  star  brought  them  under  the  eye  of  a 
lordly  hotel  clerk,  their  insignificance  called  for  nothing 
short  of  an  apology. 

How  festal  were  the  streets!  And  what  scenes  of  ani- 
mation at  the  hotels  that  were  decked  in  the  insignia 
peculiar  to  the  army  or  corps  societies  that  made  them 
their  headquarters!  President-elect  Grant,  and  Generals 
Sherman,  Sheridan,  Logan,  and  others  of  the  Army  of 
the  Tennessee  were  quartered  at  the  Tremont;  General 
Thomas  was  chief  among  those  at  the  Sherman;  while 
General  Schofield  (at  the  time  also  Secretary  of  War) 
headed  the  list  at  the  Briggs. 

Although  the  reunion  technically  embraced  only  those 
officers  who  belonged  to  the  army  societies  of  the  Ten- 
nessee, of  the  Cumberland,  of  the  Ohio,  and  of  Georgia, 
their  combined  roster  included  practically  all  the  big  fight- 
ing men  in  active  service  on  the  Union  side  at  the  close 
of  the  war  —  a  fact  that  throws  an  interesting  light  on 


A  MEMORABLE  ARMY  REUNION  213 

the  way  the  Western  commanders  were  shifted  to  displace 
Eastern  failures. 

While  the  respective  army  societies  met  in  different 
minor  halls  for  the  transaction  of  routine  business,  the 
Grand  Reunion  took  place  at  the  Crosby  Opera  House, 
at  this  time  the  finest  auditorium  in  the  country,  and  where 
only  a  few  months  before  a  National  Convention  had 
nominated  General  U  S.  Grant  for  the  presidency;  a 
notable  gathering  also,  but  a  mere  rush-light  when  com- 
pared with  the  flare  of  this  camp  fire. 

POSITIONS   ASSIGNED   TO   THE   HEROES 

Those  in  charge  of  the  reunion  arrangements  found  it 
an  ungracious  task,  in  their  embarrassment  of  leaders,  to 
determine  who  should  be  distinguished  above  their  fellows 
by  seats  in  the  front  line  on  the  stage.  In  a  way  prefer- 
ences were  determined  by  seniority  of  rank  —  and  the 
chairs  were  set  as  close  as  comfort  would  permit,  and  ex- 
tended to  the  utmost  limits  of  the  stage,  that  as  many 
as  possible  might  be  accommodated.  But  that  the  align- 
ment fell  far  short  of  satisfying  the  estimates  in  terms  of 
fighting  rank  of  those  who  had  weighed  their  commanders 
with  their  own  lives  in  the  balance,  was  made  plain  by  the 
spontaneous  acclaim  with  which  some  were  greeted  who 
were  discovered  among  comrades  in  the  body  of  the  hall, 
and  the  perfunctory  recognition  accorded  others  who 
bulked  large  on  the  stage  through  grace  of  seniority. 

The  last  night  of  the  reunion  was  an  event  to  be  re- 
membered. A  cruel  but  righteous  struggle  lay  in  the 
heroic  past ;  in  the  present  shone  bright  the  sun  of  a  bene- 
ficent peace;  and  those  who  had  been  triumphant  leaders 
in  the  one  were  now  the  glad  promoters  of  the  other,  even 
though  gathered  to  fight  their  battles  over  again.     The 


214  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

addresses  by  distinguished  soldiers  before  their  former 
comrades-in-arms  were  all  of  a  high  order,  and  evoked 
storms  of  applause  by  their  eloquence  and  deep  sincerity. 
Lieutenant-general  W.  T.  Sherman  —  "Old  Tecum- 
seh" — as  chairman,  occupied  the  centre  of  the  line  of 
embattled  heroes.  On  his  right  sat  the  President-elect, 
General  U.  S.  Grant;  on  his  left  the  accepted  father  of 
the  army.  General  George  H.  Thomas.  Others  I  now  re- 
call as  facing  the  great  audience  were  Generals  Sheridan, 
Schofield,  Hooker,  Logan,  Palmer,  Slocum,  Blair,  Mc- 
Clernand,  McDowell,  Butterfield,  Rawlins,  Rosencranz, 
Stoneman,  McCook,  Howard,  Pope,  Terry,  Harney,  In- 
galls,  Belknap,  Cox,  Coggswell,  and  Croft, —  the  last  four 
the  orators  of  the  occasion. 

A   NIGHT   OF   OVATIONS 

It  was  a  night  of  ovations  —  of  transports  of  enthusi- 
asm. But  however  wild  and  unconstrained  the  acclaim, 
it  never  passed  the  bounds  of  a  battle-trained  discrimina- 
tion. The  reunion,  therefore,  offered  a  rare  opportunity  to 
study  an  assemblage  of  heroes  in  the  act  of  hero-worship. 
As  well  as  circumstances  would  permit,  the  four  armies, 
and  even  different  corps  within  these  grand  divisions,  had 
definite  positions  in  the  hall.  Except  in  the  case  of  uni- 
versal heroes,  the  applause  sometimes  struck  the  front  as 
if  delivered  by  detached  columns ;  and  so  it  was  not  always 
easy  to  determine  its  precise  objective.  Especially  was 
the  situation  complicated  when  two  or  more  middle-weight 
heroes,  belonging  to  different  armies,  chanced  to  become 
rival  foci  of  attention,  by  emerging  simultaneously  from 
the  wings  to  seats  on  the  "firing  line."  In  such  case, 
each  might  have  his  particular  group  of  admirers;  and 
how  to  direct  the  applause  so  that  no  portion  intended  for 


THE  GRAND  ARMY  REUNION  OF  1868  AT  CROSBY'S 
OPERA  HOUSE 

l.T.-GEX.    SHEHMAX    DEI.IVEHIXG    ADDRESS    OF    WELCOME 

(This  Building  then  Ranked  as  "the  Most  Imposing  Art  Temple 
of  the  Country  ") 


A  MEMORABLE  ARMY  REUNION  «15 

one  should  go  to  the  credit  of  another  was  sometimes  a 
baffling  proposition,  and  there  were  not  wanting  occasions 
when  the  exigencies  of  discrimination  forced  a  group  of 
partisans  to  proclaim  their  particular  favorite  by  name. 
There  was,  of  course,  little  trouble  to  concentrate  from  all 
quarters  on  such  shining  marks  as  Generals  Grant,  Sher- 
man, Thomas,  Sheridan,  and  even  Hooker  and  Logan; 
but  applause  intended  as  an  ovation  to  any  one  at  the 
front  below  the  salt,  was  pretty  sure  to  scatter,  and  more 
than  once  led  to  an  embarrassing  situation. 

ENTHUSIASTIC   RECEPTION   OF   SOME  OF   THE   LEADERS 

The  President-elect,  the  leader  above  all,  was  greeted 
with  a  grand  round  of  applause,  of  course;  and  so  were 
"Old  Tecumseh,"  "Little  Phil,"  "Fighting  Joe,"  and 
"  Black  Jack."  But  the  real  thing,  the  charge  that  swept  all 
before  it,  had  apparently  held  itself  in  reserve  until  "Pap 
Thomas"  should  get  his  inning.  Then  all  in  a  moment 
the  camp  fire,  which  before  had  but  flickered  for  this  one, 
or  at  best  flared  for  another,  burst  into  an  uncontrollable 
blaze.  Cheer  rose  upon  cheer.  Men  stood  in  their  seats 
and  shouted  hysterically,  "Pap!"  "Pap!"  "Old  Pap!" 
"We  love  you!"  while  the  giant  frame  of  this  most  modest 
of  heroes,  that  had  withstood  the  shock  of  a  score  of 
battles,  trembled  as  if  smitten  with  a  great  fear.  To  be 
singled  out  in  the  presence  of  his  superiors  was  a  most 
unwelcome  ordeal  to  a  man  of  General  Thomas's  reserve, 
and  with  mute  deprecation  he  vainly  sought  to  still  the 
storm.  As  well  might  he  have  attempted  to  stem  an  on- 
rushing  avalanche,  for  his  very  unwillingness  to  be  ac- 
claimed only  lent  zest  to  the  spirit  of  tumult,  amidst  which 
"  Old  Tecumseh,"  with  a  fine  impulse  of  chivalry,  by  main 
force  pushed  him  farther  to  the  front,  where  defenceless. 


216  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

and  bereft  of  all  support,  the  Rock  of  Chickamauga  re- 
ceived in  grim  silence  the  onslaught  of  his  overwhelming 
popularity.  There  was  a  feeling  in  the  country,  and  par- 
ticularly in  the  West,  that  General  Thomas  had  been 
rather  shabbily  treated  by  those  in  power;  and  the  extra- 
ordinary character  of  the  ovation  was  no  doubt  partly  due 
to  the  exceptional  opportunity  presented  by  the  occasion 
to  bring  this  feeling  home  to  whomsoever  it  might  concern. 
Amongst  others  forced  to  their  feet  in  the  body  of  the 
hall  in  response  to  calls  and  the  plaudits  of  their  comrades, 
two  were  conspicuous  by  reason  of  their  diminutive  stature 
—  though  credited  with  ability  to  fight  their  weight  in 
wild  cats.  These  were  Generals  Corse  and  Bragg,  the 
former  the  hero-defender  of  Allatoona  Pass,  the  latter  the 
commander  of  the  famous  "Iron  Brigade";  and,  by  a  co- 
incidence, both  were  pronoimced  Democrats.  The  former 
won  no  additional  laurels  as  a  civilian ;  but  the  latter  lived 
long  enough  to  add  to  his  fame  by  the  phrase,  "We  love 
him  for  the  enemies  he  has  made."  General  Custer,  always 
a  picturesque  figure,  also  received  special  recognition. 

THE  ADDRESSES 

"Old  Tecumseh"  delivered  the  address  of  welcome. 
It  was  crisp,  epigrammatic,  and  in  every  way  a  striking 
reflex  of  the  man.  Then  followed  in  order:  General  W. 
H.  Belknap,  for  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee;  General 
Charles  Croft,  for  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland ;  General 
J.  D.  Cox,  for  the  Army  of  the  Ohio ;  and  General  William 
Coggswell,  for  the  Army  of  Georgia.  General  Belknap, 
in  his  opening,  rose  grandly  to  the  occasion.  His  was  a 
commanding  presence,  and  he  spoke  to  mastering  effect. 
Waiting  until  the  applause  that  greeted  him  on  rising  had 
been  followed  by  an  impressive  silence,  he  slowly  raised 


A  MEMORABLE  ARMY  REUNION  217 

his  arms  as  for  a  benediction,  and  with  the  action  seemed 
also  to  hft  his  auditors,  as  in  tones  full-rounded,  and 
vibrant  with  the  emotions  of  the  hour,  he  thrilled  them 
with:  " It  all  seems  like  a  dream!"  Then  he  paused,  while 
tumultuous  applause  broke  from  every  part  of  the  house. 
Like  a  master  he  had  touched  a  chord  that  led  straight  to 
every  heart;  and  thereafter  he  had  the  great  audience 
obedient  to  his  every  mood.  Rarely  are  the  emotions  of 
an  epoch  so  effectively  embodied  in  and  dramatized  by  a 
phrase.  The  address  of  General  Cox  was  that  of  a  scholar, 
while  the  others  evoked  frequent  applause  with  telling 
army  reminiscences  and  heart-stirring  periods. 

There  was  a  good  deal  of  cabinet-making  for  Grant's 
coming  administration  going  on  about  that  time;  and  so 
impressed  was  the  writer  by  the  orations  of  Generals 
Belknap  and  Cox,  that,  in  writing  an  introduction  to  the 
proceedings  for  the  Tribune,  he  felt  moved  to  try  his 
'prentice  hand  in  the  same  direction,  by  suggesting  that 
if  the  President-elect  was  still  looking  for  cabinet  material, 
he  might  go  farther  and  fare  worse  than  offer  a  portfolio 
to  either  or  both  of  those  gentlemen.  Great,  therefore, 
was  his  astonishment  when  he  found  that  Grant  had  taken 
his  advice  —  or  somebody  else's  —  and  appointed  both. 
Later,  however,  he  was  forced  to  the  conclusion,  as  to  one 
at  least,  that  it  would  have  been  better  if  he  had  stuck 
strictly  to  reporting,  and  left  cabinet-making  to  more  com- 
petent hands  —  and  he  has  never  indulged  in  the  pastime 
since. 

THE   reporter's  ENCOUNTER   WITH   GENERAL   SHERMAN 

Sherman  had  arrived  in  town  a  day  or  two  before  the 
reunion,  as  he  was  on  the  programme  for  the  address 
of  welcome.    It  occurred  to  me  as  a  good  piece  of  fore- 


218  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

handedness  to  see  him  and  ask  leave  to  make  a  copy  of 
it,  and  so  save  the  paper  a  shorthanding  bill  (this  was 
before  the  typewriter  and  easy  duplication),  a  kind  of 
foresight  always  appreciated  at  full  value  higher  up. 
There  were  rumors  that  the  hero  of  "Marching  through 
Georgia"  was  no  lover  of  the  pen  brigade;  but  it  was 
fair  to  suppose  that  his  aversion  was  confined  to  meddle- 
some army  correspondents,  and  so  I  hied  myself  blitheW 
to  the  Tremont,  sent  in  my  card,  and  was  duly  ushered 
into  the  lion's  den.  The  famous  marcher  was  alone,  and 
as  the  day  was  frosty,  he  was  jauntily  holding  up  his  coat 
tails  so  as  to  get  the  full  effect  of  a  grate  fire  in  the  rear. 

"Well,  sir,  I  see  by  this  card  that  you  are  a  newspaper 
man,"  was  his  amiable  greeting.    "What  is  it  you  want?" 

"I  called  to  ask  if  you  have  an  extra  copy  of  your 
address  of  welcome,  or  would  permit  me  to  make  one  for 
the  Tribune^'  was  my  reply. 

"  Young  man,  I  have  but  one  copy,  and  that  does  n't 
go  out  of  my  possession  until  I  have  had  my  say." 

"But  —  " 

"Stop  right  there.  There  are  no  huts  to  this  thing. 
If  once  you  got  your  hands  on  my  manuscript,  not  only 
would  I  probably  never  see  it  again,  but  most  likely  you 
would  publish  it  ahead  of  time.  I  don't  trust  newspaper 
men.    I  have  had  too  much  experience." 

While  there  may  be  occasions  when  the  pen  is  mightier 
than  the  sword,  this  was  distinctly  not  one  of  them;  for 
both  the  tone  and  the  eye  (and  what  an  eye!)  of  the  im- 
placable old  war  dog  so  demonstrated  the  wisdom  of  the 
poet  who  sang  the  praises  of  discretion,  that  little  time  was 
lost  by  this  deponent  in  retreating  to  a  stronger,  or  at  all 
events  a  more  salubrious,  position. 

However,  not  even  the  most  callous  copy-raider  cares 


A  MEMORABLE  ARMY  REUNION  219 

to  be  drubbed  vicariously;  and  such  is  the  evil  effect  of 
giving  even  a  fairly  good  dog  a  bad  name,  that,  because 
a  Son  of  Thunder  took  this  news  scout's  depravity  for 
granted,  the  latter  came  near  turning  out  all  that  was  as- 
sumed of  him.  The  temptation  came  on  the  night  of  the 
great  reunion.  In  charge  of  the  reportorial  contingent 
assigned  by  the  Tribune  for  duty  at  the  meeting,  I 
was  privileged  to  forage  behind  the  scenes.  My  enemy 
was  early  on  hand,  and,  from  a  position  in  the  wings,  ex- 
tended a  welcome  to  the  gathering  chiefs  as  one  by  one 
they  came  into  his  ken.  All  this  was  very  interesting 
(for  "Old  Tecumseh,"  when  in  the  humor,  was  a  pastmas- 
ter  with  the  piquant  or  felicitous  phrase),  and  while  busy 
taking  notes  of  his  sallies,  a  stray  glance  to  the  floor 
revealed  to  the  writer  a  roll  of  paper  a  yard  or  more 
from  Tecumseh's  heels.  A  step,  and  the  reporter  found 
in  his  hands  the  very  address  that  had  been  so  brusquely 
denied  him.  Various  emotions  contended  for  mastery. 
What  a  chance  to  get  even  —  to  give  the  old  hero  a  worse 
facer  than  he  had  given!  But  a  good  daemon  put  all  the 
little  imps  of  temptation  to  flight;  and  stepping  up  to 
the  big  chief,  I  handed  him  the  scroll  with  the  remark, 
"General  Sherman,  I  take  pleasure  in  returning  the 
manuscript  you  so  kindly  let  me  have  to  copy." 

"What 's  that?  I  let  nobody  have  my  manuscript"  — 
and  this  with  a  look  that  had  the  glint  of  a  line  of  bayo- 
nets.   "Are  you  the  reporter  who  asked  me  for  it?" 

I  frankly  acknowledged  my  guilt,  then  added:  "I 
found  this  on  the  floor." 

Quickly  his  hands  went  to  his  coat  tails.  Then  he 
snatched  the  roll  from  my  hand;  glanced  at  it;  gave  me 
a  look  which,  if  less  piercing  than  the  first,  conveyed 
volumes  of  suspicions;  growled  a  "Much  obliged";  faced 


220  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

about;  and  a  moment  later  stepped  from  the  wings  to 
receive  the  welcoming  plaudits  of  the  great  assemblage. 

CONFRONTED  BY  GENERAL  LOGAN 

I  had  another  rather  interesting  military  encounter  the 
same  day.  General  John  A.  Logan  was  also  staying  at  the 
Tremont,  and  as  he  had  just  been  elected  Congressman- 
at-large  for  Illinois  —  a  place  created  for  the  nonce  by 
the  exigencies  of  Congressional  apportionment, —  he 
seemed  good  material  for  an  interview.  I  had  met  him 
only  a  few  months  before  at  his  home  in  Carbondale 
(whereof  more  anon)  and  therefore  required  no  introduc- 
tion. But  no  sooner  did  I  stand  in  his  presence  than  he 
turned  the  tables  on  me.  Logan  was  in  one  of  his  irascible 
moods,  and  resolved  to  do  some  interviewing  on  his  own 
account.  Going  to  a  table,  he  snatched  up  a  bit  of  paper, 
and  thrusting  it  in  my  face,  fiercely  demanded:  "What 
do  you  Tribune  people  mean  by  sending  me  this?"  I 
took  the  slip  with  some  trepidation,  but  was  greatly  re- 
lieved to  find  it  to  be  nothing  more  ominous  than  a  printed 
invitation  to  a  hastily  improvised  reception  at  the  Mich- 
igan Avenue  home  of  Deacon  Bross,  one  of  the  owners 
of  the  paper,  in  honor  of  Generals  Grant,  Sherman,  Sheri- 
dan, Thomas,  and  Schofield. 

"Mean  by  what?"  was  my  astonished  query. 

"This  invitation  to  meet  General  Schofield.  Why,  I 
commanded  more  men  than  ever  he  did.  What  entitles 
him  to  this  distinction?" 

"Why,  I  suppose,  because  he  is  the  Secretary  of  War, 
and  so  in  a  way  the  superior  even  of  General  Sherman," 
I  permitted  myself  to  reply. 

"Yes,  and  you  people  seem  determined  to  force  him 
into  Grant's  cabinet."     I  was  then  still  ignorant  of  the 


A  MEMORABLE  ARMY  REUNION  221 

cabinet-making  abilities  that  lay  dormant  under  my  waist- 
coat, which  the  reader  will  recall  I  subsequently  dis- 
covered myself  to  possess, —  and  so  confessed  not  only 
entire  innocence  of  any  intend«d  wrong-doing,  but  pro- 
found ignorance  as  to  what  we  people  of  the  Tribune 
meant  to  do  anent  General  Schofield;  though  I  did  man- 
age to  say  that  I  thought  the  good  deacon  was  promoting 
the  reception  entirely  on  his  own  initiative,  and  without 
the  least  idea  that  a  sinister  motive  might  be  attributed 
to  the  accidental  grouping  of  the  name  of  General  Scho- 
field with  that  of  Grant.  But  the  ire  of  "Black  Jack" 
was  not  so  easily  appeased  —  it  had  been  nursed  too  long 
on  real  or  imaginary  slights  of  various  kinds  at  the  hands 
of  all  manner  of  "powers,"  and  he  laid  about  him  right 
and  left  in  a  way  that  amazed  me.  Not  only  did  he  look 
upon  the  sending  of  such  an  invitation  to  him  as  a  direct 
insult,  considering  his  rank,  but  as  an  underhanded  blow 
at  his  aspirations.  As  chief  among  the  volunteer  gen- 
erals, he  contended,  he  had  a  claim  to  some  exceptional 
recognition;  but  because  he  was  not  a  West  Pointer,  he 
had  been  only  too  often  passed  over  by  the  war  powers 
in  the  matter  of  independent  conmiands,  and  it  seemed 
that  this  studied  neglect  was  to  follow  him  into  civil  life. 

I  demurred  to  all  this  by  citing  that  his  State  had  just 
elected  him  to  the  most  honored  place  then  in  its  gift. 

"Bah!"  he  exclaimed.  "What  do  I  care  for  this 
empty  honor  of  Congressman-at-large  ?  I  was  a  Congress- 
man before  the  war,  and  that 's  all  I  am  now,  after  all 
the  fighting  I  've  done.  And  now,  when  there  is  an  office 
like  that  of  Secretary  of  War,  that  ought  to  come  to  me 
by  every  right,  —  and  it  ought  never  to  go  into  the  West 
Point  ring, —  not  a  hand  is  lifted  by  your  people  to  help 
me,  but  instead  they  send  me  this  insulting  invitation." 


222  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

Thus  twice  in  a  single  day  an  ambitious  reporter 
missed  getting  what  he  went  for;  but,  had  he  been  con- 
nected with  a  paper  less  wedded  to  the  proprieties  than 
the  Tribune  under  Horace  White,  what  he  really  got 
might  easily  have  been  made  interesting  reading.  After- 
wards, when  I  told  the  good  deacon  how  Logan  had  taken 
his  well-meant  invitation,  those  astonishingly  shaggy  eye- 
brows of  his  mounted  nearly  to  the  top  of  his  head. 

GENERAL   LOGAN   AS   A   POLITICIAN 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Tribune  had  at  this  time 
small  enthusiasm  for  General  Logan,  the  politician.  Hor- 
ace White,  its  editor,  was  not  only  of  an  independent  turn 
of  mind,  but  had  already  entered  upon  those  studies  which 
in  after  years,  through  his  position  as  editor  of  the  New 
York  Evening  Post,  has  made  him  a  recognized  author- 
ity among  American  economists;  whereas  Logan,  though 
he  aimed  so  high,  had  at  this  time  little  besides  his  war 
record  to  recommend  him.  To  be  sure,  few  who  in  those 
days  fought  the  Southern  brigadiers  all  over  again  on  the 
stump  were  any  better  equipped;  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
none  attracted  equal  attention,  because  of  a  splendid  war 
record  and  an  aggressive  personality.  Toward  the  close 
of  his  career  Logan  rose  to  an  assured  place  in  senatorial 
debate  —  and  the  admirable  temper  in  which  he  took 
his  Vice-Presidential  defeat  made  him  many  friends  among 
former  depreciators  —  but  in  the  passion-laden  days  im- 
mediately following  the  war,  he  would  occasionally  in  his 
patriotic  zeal  get  so  much  at  odds  with  accepted  forms  of 
speech  as  to  be  the  despair  of  the  shorthand  fraternity. 

MRS.  Logan's  tact,  winsomeness,  and  popularity 
Howerer,  if  in  those  formative  days  the  general  had 
few  admirers  among  newspaper  men  (or,  let  us  confine 


"BLACK   JACK"    LOGAN 

( Major-Gencral  and  Congressman-at-Large) 


A  MEMORABLE  ARMY  REUNION  223 

it  to  stenographers) ,  Mrs.  Logan  had  enough  and  to  spare. 
It  has  been  frequently  remarked  that  her  brilliant  initi- 
ative, tactful  cooperation,  and  self-sacrificing  support, 
joined  to  a  most  winning  personality,  were  potent  influ- 
ences in  promoting  the  general's  political  fortunes.  I 
believe  this  to  be  true,  especially  in  early  days,  to  an  even 
greater  extent  than  is  generally  supposed.  A  somewhat 
unique  personal  experience  may  serve  to  illustrate  the  sort 
of  ally  and  helpmate  she  was  —  quick  to  seize  every  op- 
portunity at  any  cost  of  personal  sacrifice,  to  disarm  her 
husband's  logical  opponents,  by  enlisting  them  under  her 
own  banner. 

It  was  in  the  late  Summer  of  1868.  General  Logan 
had  been  nominated  by  the  Republican  party  of  Illinois 
for  the  office  of  Congressman-at-large.  He  was  accord- 
ingly booked  to  fire  the  opening  gun  of  the  presidential 
campaign  in  the  State,  at  Carbondale,  his  home.  I 
was  sent  there  to  report  on  the  rally  for  the  Tribune 
and  telegraph  a  fairly  full  synopsis  of  the  speech,  espe- 
cially if  by  any  chance  the  subjects  of  finance  and  taxation 
should  be  touched  upon  —  questions  then  slowly  looming 
on  the  political  horizon. 

Now  it  so  happened  (as  it  will  to  youthful  swains) 
that  the  narrator  was  paying  court  to  his  future  wife. 
And  it  further  happened  that  she  was  at  this  particular 
time  visiting  relatives  about  half-way  between  Chicago 
and  Carbondale;  and  what  more  natural  than  that  he 
should  set  his  wits  to  work  to  arrange  matters  to  give  him 
a  day  off  at  Onarga,  and  that  without  interfering  with 
his  schedule.  He  therefore  made  a  study  of  time  tables, 
found  that  a  train  left  Carbondale  at  three  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  for  the  north,  and  as  the  rally  was  advertised 
for  two  o'clock,  and  the  general  would  certainly  talk  a 


224  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

couple  of  hours,  that  train  could  be  enlisted  in  love's 
service  only  on  condition  that  the  speech  be  gotten  at  some- 
how beforehand;  and,  as  the  general  was  never  known 
to  prepare  even  so  much  as  headings  for  his  remarks,  the 
prospect  loomed  with  discouragements.  However,  love 
had  before  been  known  to  find  a  way,  and  it  did  so  again. 

MRS.   LOGAN   TO  THE  RESCUE 

When  the  hero  of  this  romance  got  to  Carbondale, 
though  quite  early  in  the  morning,  he  forthwith  posted  to 
the  Logan  residence,  where  he  found  its  mistress  among 
her  flowers,  while  the  general  was  still  in  dreamland. 
Naturally  the  swain  lost  little  time  in  making  known  his 
heart's  desire  anent  that  day  off;  and  Mrs.  Logan,  with 
a  woman's  natural  disposition  to  aid  and  abet  any  love 
adventure,  readily  promised  to  do  all  in  her  power  to 
further  his  wishes,  and  this  the  rather  when  convinced  that 
a  more  coherent  report  could  be  made  from  data  obtained 
during  a  quiet  tete-a-tete  than  from  notes  scribbled  amidst 
the  hurly-burly  of  an  out-door  rally. 

As  time  was  an  important  factor  in  the  success  of  our 
little  scheme,  the  general  was  hustled  up  a  bit  earlier 
than  would  otherwise  have  happened;  and  even  while  at 
his  breakfast,  scraps  of  copy  were  providently  extracted, 
to  make  room,  let  us  believe,  for  an  extra  portion  of  eggs 
and  bacon,  inasmuch  as  the  general  announced  he  would 
not  break  a  prospective  fast  until  after  the  meeting.  It  did 
not  take  long  to  discover  that  the  "opening  gun"  which 
John  was  assigned  to  fire  was  one  of  the  old-fashioned 
muzzleloaders,  shotted  with  the  regulation  (s)logans 
against  unrepentant  Rebel  brigadiers  and  their  sinister 
purpose  to  get  firmly  seated  in  the  Government  saddle 
again.    Indeed,  before  the  last  egg  had  disappeared,  more 


A  MEMORABLE  ARMY  REUNION  225 

points  than  the  general  was  likely  to  elaborate  in  his 
speech  were  in  the  interrogator's  possession.  Without  ado 
he  set  to  work  to  extend  them  into  a  column, —  which,  of 
this  sort,  was  all  that  was  wanted ;  and  it  was  Mrs.  Logan 
rather  than  the  general  who  made  discriminating  selection 
for  emphasis  or  elaboration. 

I  accompanied  Mrs.  Logan  to  the  place  of  meeting  — 
a  very  pretty  grove  about  half  a  mile  from  the  house, — 
whither  the  general  had  preceded  us.  The  son,  John  A. 
Logan,  Jr.  (who,  with  his  father's  fighting  blood  in  his 
veins,  has  since  met  his  death  at  the  front  in  the  Philippine 
Islands),  then  a  youngster  in  probably  his  first  knicker- 
bockers, trotted  by  our  side.  I  remained  about  half  an 
hour,  to  note  some  details  of  the  rally  for  an  introduction, 
and  to  see  that  John  was  well  under  way  fighting  the 
battles  of  his  country  over  again.  Then  I  bade  Mrs.  Lo- 
gan good-bye,  and  was  about  to  make  a  bee  line  for  the 
station,  to  file  my  despatch,  and  to  make  sure  not  to  miss 
the  train,  when  my  lady  exclaimed  in  a  voice  that  almost 
had  a  sob  in  it:  "Oh,  I  'm  so  sorry!  I  intended  you  should 
take  a  bouquet  from  my  garden,  and  a  bottle  of  wine  of 
my  own  making,  to  your  sweetheart!" 

"That  was  very  kind  of  you,  indeed,  but  it  can't  be 
helped  now,"  was  my  reply. 

"But  it  can  and  must  be  helped,"  was  her  emphatic  re- 
joinder, and  gathering  up  her  skirts,  she  exclaimed  as  she 
started,  "  Come  right  along." 

I  did  my  best  to  dissuade  her  —  for  one  reason  that 
I  feared  to  lose  my  train  —  but  to  no  avail ;  and  she  kept 
me  at  a  trot  for  the  better  part  of  the  half-mile  to  the 
house.  In  those  days  Mrs.  Logan  possessed  the  agility 
of  a  deer;  and  she  made  a  picture  of  animation  it  is  a  de- 
light to  recall.    We  met  a  number  of  the  townspeople 


226  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

on  their  way  to  the  grove,  and  every  now  and  then,  as  we 
scurried  past,  she  would  throw  back  a  laughing  "  I  forgot 
something."  Perhaps  some  may  have  imagined  it  was 
John's  speech. 

It  seemed  but  a  moment  after  we  reached  the  garden 
before  I  found  a  posy  in  my  hand,  and  she  met  my  sur- 
prise with,  "I  had  arranged  it  all  in  my  mind  coming 
along."  Then  she  skipped  into  the  house,  and  in  a  twink- 
ling reappeared  with  a  bottle  of  wine,  neatly  wrapped. 
To  her  gifts  she  added  "ever  so  many  of  my  best  wishes"; 
then,  having  returned  hasty  but  heartfelt  thanks,  I  was 
away. 

And  now  is  any  reader  surprised  that  the  writer  has 
ever  since  been  a  stanch  supporter  of  Mrs.  Logan?  In- 
deed, on  more  than  one  occasion  he  stayed  his  hand  when 
the  temptation  was  strong  to  go  for  John  in  the  columns 
of  the  Democratic  Times,  and  all  on  account  of  one  who 
was  not  only  the  equal,  but,  on  occasion,  easily  the  "better 
half." 


EARLY    LITERATURE  AND  ART 

Absence  of  the  Vernacular  in  the  Early  Literature  op  Chi- 
cago —  The  Stilted  Classicism  of  a  Certain  Historian  —  An 
Example  of  his  Style  —  The  Literature  of  the  Early  Six- 
ties—  A  History  of  Chicago's  Industries — The  Scintilla- 
tions OF  "January  Searle"  —  Benjamin  F.  Taylor  —  George 
P.  Upton  —  Other  Chicago  Writers  of  the  War  Period  — 
Francis  F,  Browne  and  "The  Lakeside"  —  Early  Art  in  Chi- 
cago —  Real  Art  Beginnings. 

IT  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  among  all  the  inspired 
prophets   and   jubilant   celebrants   who   raised   their 

voices  in  Chicago's  beginnings  to  proclaim  her  future 
greatness,  there  was  none  whose  lucubrations  had  the 
savor  of  its  native  speech,  in  manner  as  "John  Phoenix," 
Bret  Harte,  and  "Mark  Twain"  exploited  the  Argonauts 
of  '49  in  the  patois  of  the  Western  slope.  Of  mere  writers 
there  were  more  than  enough;  but  none  felt  moved  to  de- 
pict the  strenuous  life  about  them  in  fitting  vernacular. 
In  Benjamin  F.  Taylor,  Chicago  possessed  a  poet  whose 
muse  rose  sublimely  to  the  theme  of  the  great  war;  but 
in  the  presence  of  the  everyday  drama  of  life  he  was  nearly 
voiceless.  Indeed,  it  is  a  commonplace  that  only  the  rare 
few  succeed  in  translating  the  idiom  of  their  time  into  the 
universal  tongue. 

The  manners  of  early  Chicagoans  were  unconventional 
enough,  and  the  ordinary  speech  of  men  about  town  as 
direct  and  picturesque  as  one  could  wish.  But  by  some 
strange  inversion,  such  thoughts  as  found  expression  dur- 

«27 


228  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

ing  this  period  in  what  aspired  to  be  literature,  were 
imaged  in  forms  ludicrously  alien  to  the  soil.  However 
the  turgid,  pseudo-classical  rhetoric  of  the  time  may  have 
appealed  to  a  former  generation,  its  pedantries  and  af- 
fectations have  an  odd  sound  to  ears  accustomed  to  the 
epigranmiatic  literary  speech  of  to-day.  In  early  Chicago, 
as  in  many  another  place  of  the  time,  the  literary  muse 
floundered  helplessly  between  the  classic  and  the  inane  — 
the  formal  Addisonian  period,  and  the  puerilities  of  Gra- 
ham's or  Godey's  magazine.  The  man  about  town  saw 
clearly  enough  the  thing  as  it  was,  and  the  unprofessional 
story-maker  was  quick  to  touch  it  up  with  his  homely  wit 
or  satire.  But  the  man  of  the  quill  lived  in  a  world  apart, 
had  vision  only  for  what  would  permit  itself  to  be  larded 
with  classic  ineptitudes;  and  so  it  was  left  to  the  Jack 
Nelsons,  the  Sam  Turners,  the  Dan  O'Haras,  the  Frank 
Parmelees,  their  predecessors  or  contemporaries,  to  sur- 
prise the  local  divinity  as  Nature  had  fashioned  her,  dress 
her  in  such  homespun  as  might  lie  to  hand,  and  start  the 
hussy  on  her  rounds  among  the  raconteurs.  And  when  by 
any  chance  one  of  these  improvisations  found  its  way  into 
print,  it  generally  stalked  on  such  preposterous  stilts  (lest 
the  native  soil  defile  it)  that  its  progenitor  seldom  recog- 
nized his  offspring. 

There  was  in  the  early  sixties  one  Bowman,  a  lank  spec- 
imen of  our  Bohemian  tribe,  doing  stunts  under  the  pen 
name  of  "Beau  Hackett,"  who  not  only  had  the  traditional 
physiognomic  prerequisite  of  a  humorist  —  an  abnormal 
proboscis  —  but  carried  some  pretty  good  brain  stuff 
besides.  However,  a  fool  friend  got  him  a  position  as 
State  Historian,  and  that  finished  him.  The  efforts  of 
another  historian  of  early  Illinois  to  hand  down  the  Chi- 
cago of  the  forties  call  for  special  mention. 


BENJAMIN    F.  TAYLOR 
(Chicago's  Poet  of  the  War  Period) 


EARLY  LITERATURE  AND  ART  220 

THE   STILTED   CLASSICISM    OF   A    CERTAIN    HISTOEIAN 

In  1846,  when  the  city  had  a  population  approximat- 
ing 15,000,  it  had  also  a  debt  of  fifteen  thousand  dollars, 
and  at  the  same  time  a  citizen  who  had  written  a  "  History 
of  Illinois."  At  this  period  it  further  came  to  pass  that 
Chicago  began  to  preen  her  pin-feathers  for  an  excursion 
into  the  literary  empyrean,  by  organizing  a  lyceum ;  and  in 
default  of  other  or  better  material,  elevated  this  historian 
to  the  presidency.  He  chose  for  the  subject  of  his  in- 
augural address,  "The  Present  and  Future  Prospects 
of  Chicago."  How  altogether  this  composition  reflected 
the  literary  ideals  of  the  time  may  be  inferred  from  the 
fact  that  three  such  well-known  members  as  Dr.  Wm.  B. 
Egan,  the  Hon.  Thomas  Hoyne,  and  Wm.  M.  Larrabee 
were  appointed  a  committee  to  see  that  it  got  duly  printed 
in  pamphlet  form. 

From  a  historian  whose  prophetic  soul  saw  such  a 
marvellous  development  that  he  rashly  predicted  that 
some  within  the  sound  of  his  voice  might  live  to  see  a  city 
of  200,000  souls  (when,  in  fact,  at  least  one  still  lives  to 
see  2,500,000) ,  a  wayfarer  might  be  pardoned  the  expecta- 
tion of  learning  somewhat  about  the  community  regarding 
which  such  an  inspiring  prediction  was  made  —  its  man- 
ners and  the  everyday  life  of  the  market  place;  but  about 
these  he  had  hardly  a  word  to  say.  Some  other  things,  how- 
ever, he  did  talk  about.  For  example,  he  descanted  most 
loftily  on  such  burning  themes  as  Ancient  Egypt,  Persia, 
Greece,  and  Rome ;  and  fortified  his  thesis  with  references 
to  or  extracts  from  such  worthies  as  Homer,  Plutarch, 
Cato,  Archimedes,  Shakespeare,  Milton,  Chatham,  Sydney 
Smith,  Brougham,  Scott,  Campbell,  Cowper,  Sheridan, 
Fox,  Pollok,  Dr.  Paley,  Whitefield,—  with  the  Nile,  the 
Euphrates,   Athens,   the  Acropolis  and   the   Parthenon 


230  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

thrown  in  for  background  and  good  measure, —  things, 
as  any  one  must  see  at  a  glance,  all  most  intimately  asso- 
ciated with  the  quagmires  and  prairie  schooners  of  that 
interesting  period  in  the  Garden  City's  history. 

It  was  only  in  moments  of  obvious  inattention  that  he 
permitted  anything  about  Chicago  to  slip  into  his  dis- 
course, and  then  only  that  he  might  hold  up  to  execration 
the  iniquities  by  which  its  aforesaid  enormous  debt  of 
fifteen  thousand  dollars  had  been  accumulated.  He 
started  out  by  quoting  with  approbation  what  a  brother 
rhetorician  had  said  about  the  State's  debt,  to  the  effect 
that  something  ought  to  happen  "to  confound  and  para- 
lyze the  congregated  energies  of  corruption,  and  rescue 
from  the  lowest  depths  of  degradation  the  lost  credit  of 
the  State  .  .  .  and  disinter  the  enormous  skull  and  dis- 
jointed vertebrae,  the  scattered  bones  of  the  manmioth 
debt,  with  bonds  therefor  poured  out  like  water,  till  the 
drunkenness  of  financial  debauchery  has  eventuated  in 
delirium  tremens."  And  then,  rising  to  the  situation  on 
his  account,  our  historian  delivered  himself  in  this  fashion : 

"I  have  heard  it  frequently  stated,  and  in  Chicago  too,  by  men  of 
wealth  and  standing,  that  we  must  not  scrutinize  these  things  too 
closely,  for  peradventure  friends  may  suffer.  Gracious  and  eternal 
God !  Why  are  thy  bolts  withheld  when  doctrines  such  as  these,  with- 
out excuse  and  without  apology,  escape  from  polluted  lips  .  .  . 
Let  him  go  to  where  his  talents  will  be  duly  appreciated,  and  feed 
for  hire  the  half-starved  swine  that  prowl  about  hell's  dormitory,  or 
the  back  door  of  Mammon's  cellar  kitchen.     Aye, 

'Six  thousand  years  of  sorrow  have  well  nigh 
Fulfilled  their  tardy  and  disastrous  course,' 

since  the  Almighty  by  a  deed  of  trust  gave  Adam  and  his  posterity 
the  globe  we  inherit,  and  the  appurtenances  thereunto  belonging,  in- 
cluding every  herb  and  every  tree  save  one,  and  every  fowl  and  fish, 
and  every  beast,  and  every  living  thing  that  moveth  on  the  earth. 


EARLY  LITERATURE  AND  ART  231 

For  what  purpose?  That  he  might  replenish  it  and  subdue  it;  that 
he  might,  as  in  the  case  of  Eden,  'dress  it  and  keep  it.'  How,  gentle- 
men, I  ask,  have  we  discharged  that  trust?  An  answer  to  this  inquiry 
can  hardly  be  expected  in  one  discourse." 

That  our  historian  did  not  attempt  such  answer  speaks 
volumes  for  his  noble  reticence.  And  it  was  clearly  much 
better  that  he  should  finish  as  he  did,  with  — 

"  '  Charge,  Chester,  charge !    On,  Stanley,  on ! ' 
Were  the  last  words  of  Marmion!" 

And  of  such  was  literature  in  the  Chicago  of  1846. 

THE  LITERATURE  OF  THE  EARLY   SIXTIES 

Let  us  now  pass  a  decade  or  more,  and  pry  a  few 
specimen  bricks  out  of  the  literary  temple  of  the  early 
sixties.  George  S.  Phillips,  who  had  won  some  fame  in 
England  under  the  pen  name  of  "January  Searle,"  was 
at  this  time  a  reigning  luminary.  Another  was  Judge  A. 
W.  Arrington,  a  fine  personality,  who  came  from  the 
South  with  a  reputation  as  a  writer  of  border  tales.  Both 
died  in  the  sixties.  The  former  I  knew  well  and  was  of 
some  service  to  in  his  last  sad  hours.  Much  of  the  afflatus 
of  that  period  was  derived  from  the  "little  brown  jug," 
and  poor  Phillips  toward  the  end  was  seldom  sober, 
though  even  in  his  cups  never  other  than  a  gentleman. 
A.  C.  Wheeler  was  in  1863  city  editor  of  The  Morning 
Post.  He  subsequently  became  a  well-known  New 
York  critic  under  the  pen  name  of  "Njon  Crinkle,"  and 
several  years  before  his  lamented  death,  in  1904,  he  de- 
lighted literary  circles  with  a  series  of  sketches  and  novels, 
published  under  the  name  of  "J.  P.  Mowbray."  It  was 
only  natural  that  he  should  seek  fellowship  with  any  one 
whose  work  had  a  literary  flavor;  and  so  he  became  inti- 
mate with  Phillips.    Being  aware  that  I  also  had  acquaint- 


282  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

ance  with  the  author,  Mr.  Wheeler  sought  me  one  day  in 
great  haste  (he  being  suddenly  called  out  of  town)  to 
request  that  I  get  a  hack,  go  to  Phillips's  boarding-house, 
and  take  him  to  the  Mercy  Hospital,  then  situated  on 
Wabash  Avenue,  near  Van  Buren  Street.  This  was  one 
of  the  toughest  jobs  I  ever  tackled.  I  found  Phillips  quite 
out  of  his  head,  and  suffering  from  a  couple  of  broken 
ribs.  A  strait- jacket  was  improvised,  and  with  the  aid  of 
the  hackman  and  a  fellow-boarder  the  struggling  sufferer 
was  carried  to  the  carriage.  The  drive  was  fortunately 
a  short  one,  but  what  there  was  of  it  thrilled  with  interest. 
Arrived  at  the  hospital  we  were  compelled  to  bind  him  to 
the  bed,  and  he  expired  in  his  bonds. 

A   HISTORY  OF   CHICAGO'S   INDUSTRIES 

It  was  hard  sledding  for  poor  Phillips  most  of  the 
time.  He  had,  however,  one  windfall,  when,  in  1862,  one 
I.  D.  Guyer  took  it  into  his  head  to  publish  a  "History 
of  Chicago:  Its  Commercial  and  Manufacturing  Inter- 
ests and  Industries."  The  historical  part  was  exceedingly 
brief,  and  for  the  rest  the  publication  was  a  sort  of  literary 
and  illustrated  business  directory,  in  which  such  firms  as 
were  willing  to  pay  for  the  luxury  were  written  up  for 
all  they  were  worth.  When  Phillips  found  himself  in 
daily  newspaper  harness,  he  felt  sadly  hampered  by 
thoughts  of  the  blue  pencil;  but  in  charge  of  the  literary 
end  of  this  commercial  enterprise,  he  not  only  was  given 
a  free  hand,  but  was  urged  to  extend  his  Pegasus  to  the 
utmost. 

This  illustrated  history  is  now  a  rare  literary  curiosity. 
It  matters  not  what  the  commodity, —  rubber,  jewelry, 
books,  engravings,  drugs,  beer, —  a  description  of  the 
business  house  was  invariably  preceded  by  a  historical 


EARLY  LITERATURE  AND  ART  fSS 

sketch  of  the  invention  or  discovery  of  the  commodity 
offered.  That  Phillips  dazzled  us  youngsters  in  those  days 
will  not  be  doubted  by  the  reader  when  he  shall  himself 
blink  under  the  radiance  of  his  style.  Only  a  few  scintil- 
lating gems  from  this  treasure  casket  are  permitted.  The 
subjoined  refers  to  the  book  store  of  S.  C.  Griggs  &;  Co., 
the  predecessors  of  A.  C.  McClurg  &  Co.,  and  follows  a 
couple  of  pages  on  the  birth  of  literature  and  the  discovery 
of  printing : 

"The  establishment  is  a  massive  edifice  with  an  ornate  iron  front 
elevation  to  protect  it  from  the  devouring  flame  and  the  wreck  of 
time,*  known  as  Burch's  Iron  Block,  majestic  in  its  appearance,  as  be- 
comes a  pursuit  whose  prerogative  it  is  to  move  the  arms  that  move 
the  world.  Compared  with  any  other  place  in  this  western  world  it 
is  to  the  scholar  what  the  Parthenon  was  to  the  Athenian.  We  have 
read  of  Cadmus  bringing  letters  to  Greece,  and  we  trace  with  un- 
utterable curiosity  and  delight  their  progress  from  nation  to  nation, 
as  like  the  sim  in  his  circuit  they  go  to  illumine  the  globe.  But  we 
are  witnessing  here  in  this  latest  found  Hesperian  home  of  the  strug- 
gling races  of  men,  a  spectacle  which  enkindles  a  deeper  enthusiasm 
and  awakens  more  illimitable  hopes  than  all  the  records  of  Alfred  or 
Cadmus.  .  .  .  There  never  has  been  a  great  nation,  until  this, 
with  a  universal  language,  without  dialects.  The  Yorkshire  man  can- 
not now  talk  with  a  man  from  Cornwall.  The  Peasant  of  the  Ligurian 
Apenines  drives  his  goats  home  at  evening  over  hills  that  look  doMm 
upon  six  provinces,  none  of  whose  dialects  he  can  speak.  Here  five 
thousand  miles  change  not  the  sound  of  a  word.  This  we  owe  to 
Webster,  whose  genius  has  presided  over  every  scene  in  the  nation. 
His  principles  of  language  have  tinged  every  sentence  that  is  now  or 
will  ever  be  uttered  by  an  American  tongue.  It  is  universal,  om- 
nipotent, omnipresent.  No  man  can  breathe  the  air  of  the  Continent 
and  escape  it,  and  this  great  work  is  always  found  on  sale  at  this 
great  representative  house.     No  person  should  be  without  a  copy." 

A.  H.  Miller's  jewelry  store  on  Lake  Street  reminds 
him  of  "the  crystal  entrance  to  some  Aladdin  palace  where 

♦  It  was  totally  destroyed  in  1868. 


234  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

the  treasures  of  earth  and  sea,  refined  and  polished  by 
cunning  workmanship,  are  all  flashing  forth  their  intense 
splendor."    He  then  continues : 

"We  crossed  the  threshold  of  the  house  of  treasures,  when  the 
gas  light  was  flashing  over  these  works  of  genius,  and  saw  them 
in  transcendent  mirrors  reflected  and  multiplied,  an  epic  in  silver  and 
gems  and  gold.  We  saw  a  coronet  of  pearls,  inwoven  with  a  starry- 
way  of  brilliants,  and  lying  as  though  it  had  just  fallen  from  the 
brow  of  a  princess,  and  near  to  it  a  diamond  cross  which  'Jews  might 
kiss,  and  infidels  adore.'  " 

And  the  diamond  is  in  his  eyes  "the  ultimate  effect,  the 
idealization,  the  spiritual  evolution  of  coal,  the  butterfly 
escaped  from  its  antennal  touch,  the  realization  of  the 
coal's  highest  being,"  while  the  opal  is  "the  moonlight 
queen  of  the  kingly  diamond." 

Somebody  named  Wiggers  had  a  picture-frame  and 
looking-glass  shop  on  Randolph  Street,  and  thus  is  he 
introduced : 

"On  one  of  those  dreamy  Indian  summer  afternoons  during  last 
autumn,  while  standing  in  the  elegant  salon  of  one  of  those  palatial 
residences  [cost  $20,000]  in  Marble  Terrace,  Michigan  Avenue,  be- 
fore a  grand  French  plate  mirror,  extending  from  the  ceiling  to  the 
floor,  reflecting  the  beauties  of  the  lake  and  sky,  and  looking  like  a 
sea  of  glass  surroimded  by  a  golden  shore,  we  involuntarily  exclaimed. 
If  this  be  not  the  highest  ideal  of  domestic  luxury,  where  shall  wealth 
or  fancy  go  to  find  it.''" 

In  the  course  of  writing  up  an  engraver's  advertise- 
ment he  becomes  psychologically  reflective : 

"  In  the  marriage,  visiting,  or  mourning  card  there  often  is  a  power, 
a  mysterious  influence  that  causes  a  thousand  pleasing  and  varied 
associations  to  rush  upon  the  fancy.  We  have  often  gone  into  this 
establishment,  and  when  we  saw  parcel  after  parcel  despatched  by 
express  to  distant  quarters,  we  have  thought  what  fountains  of  joy 
or  grief  will  these  little  white-winged  messengers  of  power  open  to  the 


Custom  House  Place,  Showing  John  It.  Walsh's  Store 


By  Courtesy  of  tlie  Chicasro  Ilistorital  Society 

Washington  Street,  Looking  West  from  Dearborn 

STREET   SCENES   IN   THE    "BYGONE   DAYS" 


EARLY  LUERATURE  AND  ART  885 

hearts  of  those  who  read  them.  Some  with  a  few  words  added  in 
pencil  will  record  the  rapturous  emotions  of  reciprocated  love;  some 
will  carry  messages  of  sadness  that  will  cover  life's  pilgrimages  with 
gloom;  some  will  announce  that  a  new  being  has  burst  joyfully  upon 
creation;  and  the  more  elegantly  engraved,  the  higher  the  art  style, 
the  more  impressive." 

Hair  jewelry  affected  him  in  this  wise: 

"  '  The  most  powerful  thing  is  a  beautiful  woman's  hair,'  says  an 
Arab  proverb,  and  as  'a  thing  of  beauty  is  a  joy  forever,'  whether 
it  be  on  canvas,  in  the  breathing  marble,  in  words,  or  of  fancy  unde- 
fined in  the  brain,  or  the  gem  that  decks  the  form  divine,  adorns  the 
bosom  of  beauty,  or  sparkles  on  the  lily-white  hand,  it  matters  not, 
it  is  a  thing  of  beauty  and  it  is  ever  so  with  Campbell's  hair  jewelry." 

In  introducing  the  reader  to  John  R.  Walsh's  old 
newspaper  and  book  stand,  he  opens  in  this  fashion: 

"When  Edmund  Burke,  the  wisest  statesman  and  the  greatest 
political  philosopher  the  world  has  yet  seen,  drew  in  the  British 
House  of  Commons  his  famous  word  painting  of  the  future  grandeur 
and  prosperity  of  the  American  colonies,  his  shortsighted  and  time- 
serving contemporaries,"  etc. 

Speaking  of  Lill  &  Diversy's  beer,  he  informs  the 
reader  that  its  fame  has  extended  "  from  the  frozen  regions 
of  the  north,  the  rock-girt  shores  of  Lake  Superior  to 
New  Orleans,  the  Naples  of  the  south,  and  from  Niagara 
Falls  to  the  newly  discovered  gold  regions  of  Pike's  peak." 

Mr.  Phillips,  to  his  extreme  joy,  found  a  worthy  coad- 
jutor in  Prince  Napoleon,  when  the  latter  visited  Chicago; 
and  that  this  sprig  of  royalty  would  have  given  him  a  hard 
run  had  he  entered  the  lists  as  a  business  illuminator,  none 
can  doubt  after  reading  what  he  said  of  Lord  &  Smith's 
drug  store,  according  to  Mr.  Phillips's  quotation,  namely : 
"If  this  does  not  represent  the  right  arm  of  power,  and 
the  true  dignity  of  American  merchandising,  then  I  have 
not  seen  it  on  this  continent." 


236  BYGONE  DAYS  IN   CHICAGO 

However  flamboyantly  Mr.  Phillips  might  express 
himself  in  prose,  in  his  poetical  effusions  he  manifested  a 
due  restraint,  as  is  shown  in  these  finely  imagined  lines, 
entitled  "Silence": 

Old  Time  was  dead,  and  the  pale  hours  lay 

In  his  tomb  around  him  solemnly, 

And  Earth,  like  a  vision,  had  passed  away, 

And  not  a  wreck  of  its  beauty  stood; 

For  mountain  and  meadow,  and  field  and  flood. 

And  all  that  was  fair  and  bright  and  good 

Had  turned  to  a  shapeless  void  again; 

And  Death,  whose  arm  had  its  thousands  slain. 

Had  broken  his  sceptre  and  ceased  to  reign. 

And  there  was  none  o'er  this  scene  to  mourn. 
Save  one  pale  maiden,  whose  locks  were  torn. 
And  whose  tearful  eyes  and  looks  forlorn 

Spoke  more  than  her  voiceless  tongue  could  tell 

Of  all  that  the  lovely  earth  befell. 

Ere  she  heard  the  voice  of  its  funeral  knell. 

And  she  did  weep,  though  her  lips  were  sealed. 
And  though  naught  she  felt  could  be  revealed. 
And  though  her  heart  with  its  grief  concealed 

Was  ready  to  burst!    She  wandered  on 
O'er  the  fields  of  space,  all  sad  and  lone. 
For  Silence  knew  that  she  wept  alone. 

BENJAMIN   F.    TAYLOR 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  Benjamin  F. 
Taylor,  easily  Chicago's  best  literary  example  of  the 
sixties,  and  it  has  every  reason  to  keep  his  memory  green. 
I  recall  with  more  than  passing  interest  Decoration  Day, 
1870  (the  first  in  the  long  series),  when  a  monument  to 
the  fallen  heroes  of  Bridges'  Battery  was  dedicated  in 


EARLY  LITERATURE  AND  ART  «37 

Rosehill  Cemetery.  There  was  a  vast  assemblage,  and  an 
inspired  lyric,  read  by  this  poet,  went  straight  to  every 
heart.  At  its  conclusion  the  Rev.  Robert  Collyer  pre- 
sented a  tear-stained  face  to  the  multitude,  and  in  a  voice 
stirred  with  deep  emotion,  said: 

"You  have  heard,  friends,  that  I  am  to  give  you  a  benediction. 
I  have  felt,  as  I  am  sure  you  did,  that  you  were  receiving  it  when 
you  listened  to  those  mighty  words  that  have  stormed  our  hearts  to- 
day, as  no  poem  of  our  great  war,  I  think,  stormed  us  before.  I 
would  rather  that  these  should  rest  upon  you  than  any  other  thing 
that  can  be  said  or  done.  I  can,  therefore,  but  say,  'God  bless  you.' 
Let  us  all  go  home  with  this  sweet  blessing  our  friend  and  fellow 
citizen  has  given  us  in  our  hearts.     Amen." 

The  poem  contains  about  two  hundred  lines.  I  shall 
venture  on  a  few  extracts.     It  opens: 

"Oh,  be  dumb,  all  ye  clouds. 

As  the  dead  in  their  shrouds. 

Let  your  pulses  of  thunder  die  softly  away; 

Ye  have  nothing  to  do 

But  to  drift  round  the  blue. 

For  the  emeral  world  grants  a  furlough  to-day!" 
•  •...« 

"A   great  mart's  majestic  arterial  beat 

Throbbed  this  multitude  out  where  the  graves  at  our  feet 

Have  so  roughened  the  earth  with  their  motionless  surge 

That  we  know  we  are  treading  its  uttermost  verge. 

That  another  step  more,  and  life's  flag  would  be  furled ; 

Another  step  more,  we  are  out  of  the  world." 

"  Stormy  pulses,  be  dumb !     All  unheeded,  unheard. 
As  the  heart-beat  that  troubles  the  breast  of  a  bird. 
Wheel  the  battery  out!     Unlimber  the  guns! 
All  flashing  electric  the  eyes  of  the  sons. 
All  glowing  the  forges,  all  ready  to  fire 
The  cannons,  all  panting  with  keenest  desire. 
The  columns  all  grandeur,  and  broader  and  higher 


238  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

For  the  souls  within  range,  God  pardon  their  sins! 
Let  all  go,  mighty  heart!  and  the  battle  begins. 
Each  throb  is  the  thunder  —  a  bolt  for  each  flash 
Rends  the  air  with  a  howl,  smites  the  earth  with  a  crash. 
And  the  shriek  of  the  shell  with  the  quivering  cry 
That  a  demon  might  utter  if  demons  could  die. 
Cuts  keen  through  the  din  like  a  wing  through  the  sky; 
Till  old  Kenesaw  roars  from  its  mantle  of  cloud. 
And  Lookout  stands  white  before  God  in  its  shroud. 
As  if  Gabriel's  trumpet  had  sounded  that  day, 
And  the  Mountain  had  heard  and  was  first  to  obey." 

GEORGE   P.    UPTON 

While  Benjamin  F.  Taylor  stood  for  literature  on 
the  Journal,  George  P.  Upton,  under  the  pen  name 
of  Peregrine  Pickle,  rendered  an  even  greater  service 
through  the  columns  of  the  Tribune.  His  was,  in  fact, 
the  first  sustained  essay  to  reflect  the  spirit  of  the  times 
in  a  literary  form.  Such  a  series  of  papers,  because  of 
their  rare  fidelity  to  the  sensibilities  of  their  day  and  hour, 
would  perhaps  be  voted  as  too  naive  for  these  high- 
pressure  days;  but  forty  years  ago  they  were  looked  for- 
ward to  with  lively  anticipations,  and  constituted  the 
matter  of  chief  interest  in  the  columns  of  the  Sunday 
Tribune,  Mr.  Upton  was  also  the  first  in  Chicago  to  give 
an  informed  tone  to  musical  criticism;  and  the  fruits  of 
his  more  than  half  a  century  of  labor  in  this  chosen  field 
are  now  happily  before  the  public  in  his  "Musical  Mem- 
ories" and  other  publications.  In  the  columns  of  the 
Times  a  less  sustained  work  was  done  by  Franc  B.  Wil- 
kie,  under  the  pen  name  of  Poliuto. 

OTHER   CHICAGO  WRITERS   OF  THE  WAR  PERIOD 

It  should  not  be  inferred  from  the  foregoing  that  Chi- 
cago was  without  other  writers  of  distinction  in  those  days. 
Indeed,  there  were  several  in  the  first  rank ;  but,  as  a  rule. 


GEORG?:    P.   I  PTON 


FRANCIS    F.    BROWNE 


EARLY  LITERATURE  AND  ART  239 

they  were  too  much  engrossed  with  the  business  or  ques- 
tions of  the  hour  for  a  state  of  mind  proper  to  the  pro- 
duction of  the  things  of  the  spirit.  Dr.  Charles  H.  Ray, 
the  editor-in-chief  of  the  Tribune  both  before  and  dur- 
ing the  war,  was  one  of  the  most  cultured  and  forceful 
newspaper  writers  in  the  country,  as  the  editorial  from 
his  pen  on  the  nomination  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  quoted 
elsewhere  in  these  pages,  attests.  Another  whose  English 
was  of  the  purest  —  simple,  direct,  and  dashed  with  a 
quiet  humor  —  was  James  W.  Sheehan ;  and  that  Elias 
Colbert  (still  with  us) ,  when  separated  from  his  soul-crush- 
ing statistics,  could  draw  upon  a  rich  store  of  erudition,  and 
give  his  thoughts  a  choice  literary  flavor,  was  abundantly 
shown  by  his  Shakespeare  tercentenary  paper,  and  many 
another  example.  Also  there  was  Brock  McVickar,  redolent 
of  the  Paris  Latin  quarter.  His  was  a  fine  beginning, 
but  the  promising  sprout  was  unhappily  wasted  by  over- 
growth. And  shortly  after  the  war,  Fred  Hall  enlivened 
the  columns,  first  of  the  Republican  under  Charles  A. 
Dana,  and  then  of  the  Tribune  under  Horace  White 
(himself  a  master  of  the  art  of  exposition),  with  his  play- 
ful fancy  and  caustic  humor.  He  was  assigned  for  a 
time  to  do  police  court  sketches,  in  which  "his  honor" 
(and  there  were  some  remarkable  specimens,  a  la  Ban- 
yon,  to  draw  upon)  was  invariably  discovered  as  culprit 
extraordinary.  And  in  the  editorial  rooms  of  the  Tribune 
to-day  Fred  Hall  still  holds  sway,  with  his  life-long  asso- 
ciate, George  P.  Upton, —  the  latter's  connection  with  the 
paper  covering  a  full  half -century. 

FRANCIS   F.    BROWNE   AND   "tHE   I^KESIDE" 

Along  with  the  many  changes  in  the  social  order  that 
marked  the  close  of  the  war,  there  was  awakened  a  literary 


240  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

consciousness,  seeking  to  come  into  touch  with  the  spirit 
of  older  communities.  Chicago  now  grew  by  leaps  and 
bounds;  new  men,  bringing  with  them  the  atmosphere  of 
the  university,  came  in  numbers  sufficient  to  make  a  dis- 
tinct impression  on  the  community's  unregulated  provin- 
cialism; and  the  new  spirit  found  expression  in  the  pages 
of  The  Lakeside  Monthly^  under  the  stimulating  editor- 
ship of  Francis  F.  Browne.  The  founding  of  this  high- 
class  publication  marked  the  first  step  in  the  local  literary 
output  inviting  critical  comparison  with  what  was  doing 
in  the  world  at  large ;  and  as  such  received  flattering  recog- 
nition both  at  home  and  abroad.  It  set  up  a  standard 
whose  influence  on  the  character  of  local  production,  even 
if  not  always  recognized,  was  almost  immediate,  and  most 
salutary.  This  standard  was  not  of  the  self-sufiicient  sort 
—  it  sought  to  direct,  not  to  stifle,  the  exuberant  spirit  of 
the  West;  and  the  work  thus  begun,  and  still  carried  for- 
ward under  the  same  inspiriting  leadership  in  the  pages 
of  the  present  Dial — a  critical  force  surpassed,  perhaps,  by 
none  in  America  —  has  its  due  reward  in  a  germinating 
soil  and  literary  fruition  that  has  not  only  made  a  distinct 
place  for  itself,  but  is  receiving  an  ever  larger  recognition 
as  a  formative  influence  in  American  literature. 

EARLY   AKT   IN    CHICAGO 

Apropos  of  early  literature,  something  ought,  per- 
haps, to  be  said  about  early  art.  But  was  there  any? 
Well,  there  certainly  were  some  staggers  at  it.  Among 
other  ventures  there  was  produced  a  duly  attested  historical 
painting  immortalizing  the  Massacre  of  1812.  There  was  a 
good  deal  of  tomahawking  going  on,  especially  of  women, 
and  one  could  but  marvel  to  see  John  Kinzie,  at  that 


EARLY  LITERATURE  AND  ART  Ml 

time  Chicago's  only  bona  fide  white  settler,  standing  in  the 
midst  of  it  all,  as  if  in  a  brown  study.  There  had  been  for 
some  time  rmnors  that  a  great  painting  was  under  way. 
Much  to  my  surprise  I  was  one  day  assigned  to  "write  it 
up."  What  I  didn't  know  about  art  in  those  days  loomed 
large;  but  an  instinct  told  me  that  on  so  busy  an  occasion 
to  be  in  character,  the  one  who  was  in  a  way  its  hero  ought 
to  be  doing  something.  This  idea  seemed  never  to  have 
occurred  to  dear  old  Page ;  and  when  I  mooted  the  point, 
he  looked  quite  troubled  for  a  moment.  Then,  with  a 
happy-thought  expression:  "But  can't  we  suppose  that  he 
had  just  been  doing  something?" 

There  was  also  in  those  days  an  elderly  Scotchman 
working  very  hard  to  make  a  living  with  the  brush. 
His  genius  ran  to  allegory,  and  in  a  particular  instance 
his  subject  took  the  form  of  an  infant  carried  aloft  on  the 
back  of  a  bird.  During  a  press  view,  Jim  Chisolm,  who 
was  always  a  bit  over-critical  for  the  times,  ventured  the 
opinion  that  the  bird  ought  to  be  at  least  four  sizes  larger 
to  do  the  trick  of  kidnapping  so  lusty  an  infant.  "Ah, 
Jimmy,  lad,"  remarked  the  old  gentleman,  in  his  broadest 
accent,  as  he  patted  his  youthful  critic  and  friend  on  the 
back,  "ye  doz  n't  at  all  understand  the  picture;  the  hale 
thing  is  a  miracle." 

REAL  ART  BEGINNINGS 

However,  as  a  few  years  later  the  spirit  of  the  time 
began  to  voice  itself  in  an  acceptable  literary  form,  so  there 
were  real  beginnings  towards  expression  in  various  art 
forms.  A  native  impulse  that  in  architecture  could  realize 
itself  in  a  Columbian  Exposition,  in  sculpture  produce  a 
John  Donoghue,  and  in  other  manner  an  Albert  Sterner, 
an  Alexander  Schilling,  an  Annie  C.  Shaw,  and  a  Mary 


242  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

A.  Wright  (now  Bartow),  surely  had  warrant  for  seek- 
ing expression. 

This  group,  with  other  kindred  spirits,  struggled  along 
in  quite  the  approved  Latin  Quarter  fashion.  There  was 
light — very  light — studio  housekeeping  on  upper  floors; 
and  what  one  did  not  have  the  others  also  went  without. 
Donoghue  was  of  the  unregulated  type  commonly  asso- 
ciated in  the  popular  mind  with  genius,  and  his  "Young 
Sophocles  Leading  the  Chorus  after  the  Battle  of  Sala- 
mis"  will  go  far  to  save  his  name  from  oblivion.  Albert 
Sterner  has  now  a  recognized  international  standing,  both 
as  painter  and  illustrator.  In  the  New  York  gallery  most 
esteemed  by  individual  or  group  exhibitors,  Alexander 
Schilling  gave  a  retrospective  oil  and  water-color  exhi- 
bition recently,  which  received  wide  recognition.  That  a 
brilliant  career  was  cut  short  by  the  death  of  Annie  C. 
Shaw  is  an  ever-present  regret  to  her  friends ;  while  the  all 
too  little  work  that  is  still  done  by  Mary  A.  Bartow  at  her 
Pasadena  home  continues  to  be  marked  by  its  old-time 
strength,  and  is  touched  with  the  same  brush  of  flame  that 
gave  such  distinction  to  her  earlier  work. 


EARLY  AMUSEMENTS 

Only  One  Theatre  for  200,000  People  —  Joseph  Jefferson's 
Name  in  Directory  for  1839  —  Rice  and  McVicker  Rivals  in 
1857  —  The  Circus  an  Important  Factor  in  the  Fifties  — 
The  Minstrels  and  Wood's  Museum  —  Tragedy  the  Staple 
Article  —  Stars  of  the  First  Magnitude  —  Hamlets  Galore 
—  Getting  Your  Money's  Worth  —  The  Ballet  in  Embryo: 
Jenny  Hight  —  The  Real  Thing:  Cubas  and  Bonfanti  — 
Kings  of  Comedy:  Jefferson,  Hackett,  Sothern,  etc.  —  Com- 
parisons with  the  Present. 

THERE  is  probably  no  better  way  of  realizing  how  one 
generation  differs  from  another  in  its  manner  of  life 
or  in  its  ideals,  than  by  comparing  the  agencies  that 
cater  to  their  various  wants.  The  exceptional  hotel  accom- 
modations of  the  Chicago  of  the  early  sixties  have  been 
noted  —  a  feature  that  speaks  of  a  large  transient  popula- 
tion, and  therefore  one  prone  to  seek  diversion.  In  another 
place  something  is  said  about  the  remarkable  group  of  men 
who  filled  the  city's  pulpits  at  this  period  —  and,  if  the 
churches  were  less  imposing  than  those  that  minister  to  our 
twentieth-century  religio-aestheticism,  they  were  relatively 
far  better  attended.  But  the  feature  which  in  many  ways 
best  reflects  a  community's  social  life  is  its  amusements. 

The  twentieth-century  traveller  —  who,  on  arriving  in 
any  American  city  of  150,000  people,  if  on  diversion  bent, 
makes  choice  from  among  half  a  dozen  places,  all  syndi- 
cated up  to  the  latest  novelty  or  "sensation" — will  be  as- 
tonished to  learn  that  Chicago,  close  up  to  1864,  when  it 
was  fast  approaching  the  200,000  mark,  could  lay  claim  to 
only  one  theatre  or  permanent  show  place  fit  to  mention,  — 

243 


244  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

and  one  theatre  of  some  sort,  more  or  less  permanent,  it 
had  boasted  from  the  time  it  had  a  few  thousand  inhab- 
itants. 

JOSEPH  Jefferson's  name  in  directory  for  1839 

Indeed,  it  was  because  it  had  a  theatre  in  1839,  that  the 
name  of  "Joseph  Jefferson,  actor,"  got  into  Fergus's  first 
City  Directory.  Then,  as  a  "kid,"  our  late  lamented 
"Joe"  played  a  part  in  the  company  of  his  parents;  and, 
because  the  directory  man  happened  to  be  on  his 
rounds  at  that  particular  time,  it  came  to  pass  that  the 
bearer  of  the  name  and  title  was  duly  "naturalized";  and 
by  such  grace  "Joseph  Jefferson,  actor,"  came  to  be  his- 
torically, as  well  as  histrionically,  Chicago's  oldest  inhabi- 
tant "at  large." 

For  a  short  time,  in  1857  (and  once  before),  Chicago 
had  actually  two  theatres,  for  before  John  B.  Rice  was 
wholly  and  for  good  "off"  the  stage,  at  the  old  stand  on 
Dearborn  near  Randolph  Street,  J.  H.  McVicker  was 
"on"  at  the  new  place,  in  remote  Madison  Street,  then  a 
veritable  part  of  "shanty  town."  However,  in  a  little 
while.  Actor-manager  Rice  retired  gracefully  with  a 
goodly  bank  account.  The  community,  to  testify  its  ap- 
preciation of  him  as  a  man  grown  up  in  their  midst,  twice 
elected  him  mayor;  and  none  have  filled  that  office  to  the 
better  satisfaction  of  the  people.  However  cast  in  the 
drama  of  life,  John  B.  Rice  ever  played  his  part  worthily. 

THE   CIRCUS   AN    IMPORTANT   FACTOR   IN   THE   FIFTIES 

If  Chicago  for  so  long  a  period  could  boast  only  one 
permanent  place  of  amusement,  its  pleasure-lovers  were, 
however,  not  always  restricted  to  "Hobson's  choice,"  for 
we  are  harking  back  to  days  when  the  peripatetic  burnt- 


By  Courtesy  of  tlif  Cliicat'o  Historical  Scxitty 


McVICKER'S  THEATRE,  "HOME  OF  THE  TRAGIC  MUSE" 


By  Courtesy  of  the  Chicago  Historical  Society 


WOOD'S  MUSEUM  AND  THEATRE 

Orijrinally  Kingsbury  Hall 


EARLY  AMUSEMENTS  f4» 

cork  artist  was  in  his  glory,  and  the  circus  was  still  the 
advance  agent  of  civilization.  Indeed,  so  important  a 
place  did  the  sawdust  ring  fill  in  the  amusement  life  of 
half  a  century  ago,  that  in  1855,  when  Chicago  had  barely 
75,000  inhabitants,  Levi  J.  North  (who  along  with  Dan 
Rice  was  in  those  days  better  known  that  the  President) 
erected  a  hippodrome  for  an  entire  winter  season,  on 
Monroe  Street  near  Fifth  Avenue ;  and  a  decade  later  an- 
other winter  circus  was  established,  on  Washington  Street, 
facing  the  Court  House.  Those  were  the  days  when  the 
circus  made  its  entry  with  forty  horses  —  four  abreast  — 
to  the  band-wagon,  and  the  names  of  clowns  were  as 
cherished  of  youngsters,  as  are  now  those  of  record  pitchers 
or  short-stops. 

THE   MINSTEELS   AND    WOOD's   MUSEUM 

As  for  "Christy  Minstrels"  — as  the  English  call  all 
of  the  burnt-cork  tribe  —  Chicago  had  in  1859  the  simon- 
pure  originals  for  a  season.  And  later  Arlington,  Kelly, 
liCon,  and  Doniker,  having  opened  in  the  same  place 
(Kingsbury  Hall,  subsequently  transformed  into  Wood's 
Museum  and  Theatre  and  later  into  Aiken's)  became  so 
popular,  that  (about  1866)  a  fine  hall  was  built  for  them 
on  Washington,  between  Dearborn  and  Clark  Streets,  and 
there  they  developed  minstrelsy  to  such  perfection  as  to 
approach  present-day  high-class  vaudeville  or  comic  opera. 

KELLY,   LEON,    AND   BILLY   RICE 

Kelly  was  something  of  a  dramatist  as  well  as  a  fine 
singer,  and  it  was  an  event  when  it  was  announced  he  had 
staged  a  new  creation,  or  would  sing  a  new  ballad ;  Leon 
was  a  capital  impersonator  of  female  parts;  while  Billy 
Rice   was   ever   an   inimitable   comedian.      Among   the 


246  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

"caramel  contingent"  the  minstrel  was  in  those  days  a 
hero  of  romance  comparable  to  the  troubadour  of  old, 
and  for  a  time  the  newspapers  found  some  difficulty  in 
keeping  up  with  his  elopements  and  other  like  escapades. 

Theatre-going  was  a  serious  business  in  those  days.  A 
body  seldom  went  to  the  theatre  for  "fun," — for  that 
you  went  to  the  minstrels  or  the  circus.  No,  at  the  thea- 
tre tragedy  was  the  staple  pabulum,  with  at  most  a 
laugh  for  a  "wind-up,"  as  a  dish  of  "floating  island" 
might  be  served  to  lighten  a  heavy  course  dinner. 
Shakespeare  then  dominated  the  dramatic,  as  Wagner 
to-day  does  the  operatic  stage. 

STABS   OF   THE   FIRST   MAGNITUDE 

When  it  was  n't  one  actor  it  was  another  who  curdled 
your  blood  with  "Richard  III"  or  "Macbeth";  and  when 
the  star  parts  were  not  filled  by  men,  there  were  Ristori, 
Charlotte  Cushman,  Mrs.  Emma  Waller,  Madame 
Janauschek  and  others  to  do  Itady  Macbeth,  Queen 
Kaiherine,  and  other  tragic  heroines  of  the  divine 
William.  J.  K.  Hackett  almost  alone  relieved  the  sombre 
procession  of  tragedians  with  his  inimitable  Falstaff. 
We  were  all,  after  a  fashion,  Shakespearean  critics  in  the 
sixties.  Indeed,  one  had  to  be  or  cut  the  theatre.  In  the 
composing  room  of  the  Tribune,  for  example,  there  was 
quite  a  coterie  of  this  ilk,  fairly  the  equal  of  any  who  might 
be  assigned  to  "do"  performances  from  the  writing  staff; 
and  on  the  first  night  of  a  new  Hamlet,  there  would  be 
a  great  demand  for  "subs,"  as  all  these  "critics,"  headed 
by  tall  Harry  Streat,  must  needs  attend  in  a  body;  and 
most  erudite  comparisons  of  "readings"  would  be  in  order 
the  following  morning,  while  the  "cases"  were  being  filled 
by  "distribution." 


EARLY  AMUSEMENTS  «47 

*  HAMLETS   GALOEE 

To  show  how  amazingly  frequent  were  opportunities 
for  "comparison,"  let  it  be  noted  that  within  a  couple 
of  seasons  we  had  the  Hamlets  of  Edwin  and  Wilkes 
Booth,  Edwin  Forrest,  James  E.  Murdock,  E.  L. 
Davenport,  Charles  Kean,  Daniel  Bandman,  Charles 
Fechter,  and  Roepenach  (the  latter  at  the  German 
Theatre),  and  a  year  or  two  later,  of  Lawrence  Barrett 
and  Thomas  W.  Kean  —  not  to  mention  sundry  amateurs, 
one  a  graduate  from  the  Times  composing  room,  where 
the  "Hamlet"  fever  raged  quite  as  malignantly  as  among 
the  Tribune  "comps." 

One  did  n't  pay  much  in  those  days  —  only  about  half 
the  present  prices — yet  one  got  double  the  amount  now 
so  parsimoniously  doled  out  to  blase  dyspeptics.  The 
curtain  rose  on  the  five-act  tragedy  promptly  at  7:30. 
This  concluded,  there  would  be  (as  there  had  been  before 
the  play  and  between  acts)  music  from  "Martha"  or  "The 
Bohemian  Girl" — with  both  of  which  sentimental  damsels 
everybody  at  this  period  was  on  most  familiar  terms  — 
after  which,  amidst  a  great  fanfare.  Miss  Jenny  Hight 
would  rush  to  the  footlights,  fling  one  of  her  innocuous 
pas-setds  at  the  boys,  mayhap  to  tune  them  up  a  bit  for 
the  coming  farce  (which  was  generally  of  the  "Box  and 
Cox"  variety,  with  John  Dillon  or  Sam  Myers,  or  both, 
in  the  funny  parts).  It  was  not  until  this  had  been 
brought  to  a  triumphant  conclusion  that  one  retired  to 
his  pillow,  always  with  the  feeling  that  he  had  received 
a  full  quid  pro  quOy  —  a  state  of  satisfaction,  one  may 
venture  to  assert,  somewhat  rare  among  play-goers 
nowadays. 


248  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

THE   BALLET   IN   EMBRYO:    JENNY    HIGHT 

Miss  Jenny  Hight,  to  whom  allusion  has  been  made,  was 
no  ordinary,  frivolous,  Paris-made  danseuse  (of  which  kind 
we  were  to  see  more  than  enough,  later  on),  but  a  strictly 
home-made  product;  and,  if  a  bit  heavy-footed,  that  onlj^ 
illustrated  how  the  law  of  gravitj^  in  those  days  operated 
to  hold  everything  indigenous  to  Chicago  close  to  the 
ground.  We  youngsters  were  all  in  love  with  Jenny,  of 
course;  but,  let  me  hasten  to  add,  only  in  a  platonic  sort 
of  way :  for  anything  more  ardent  would  have  been  wholly 
out  of  character  with  her  naive  attractions.  So  far  as 
she  was  concerned,  we  were  all  stanch  protectionists, 
pledged  to  the  encouragement  and  support  of  home  in- 
dustry —  of  which  our  Jenny's  dancing  was  a  convincing 
example.  Not  only  did  she  work  hard  —  which  alone  was 
enough  to  recommend  her  to  all  but  the  superfinical  — 
but  Jenny  was  also  as  good  as  she  could  be,  and  so  nice 
and  modest  that  her  dancing  (though  necessarily  done  in 
short  skirts)  so  nearly  approximated  to  an  object  lesson 
in  the  proprieties,  that  she  seemed  to  form  for  many  folks 
the  much-sought-for  link  between  the  stage  and  —  well, 
let  us  say,  the  Young  Ladies'  Seminary. 

THE   REAL   THING:    CUBAS   AND   BONFANTI 

Art  with  us  all  was  still  in  that  stage  where  everything 
morally  good  is  also  aesthetically  beautiful ;  and  it  was  not 
until  one  Cubas  —  a  dark-eyed,  supple-limbed  Spanish 
temptress  —  entered  our  Eden  to  personify  the  heresy  of 
"art  for  art's  sake,"  that  our  innocence  fell  a  victim  to 
knowledge.  The  barriers  once  down  —  and  they  came 
down  with  a  rush  immediately  after  the  war  —  a  veritable 
flood-tide  of  "Black  Crooks"  and  "White  Fawns,"  with 
their  seductive  Bonfantis,  swept  over  the  city:  so  that 


EARLY  AMUSEMENTS  «4» 

the  Crosby  Opera  House,  just  opened  (1866) ,  for  months 
and  montlis  at  a  time  was  devoted  to  nothing  else.  With 
the  advent  of  Cubas,  our  Jenny's  reign  came  to  a  sudden 
end.  Her  refusal  to  disjoint  herself,  or  spoil  her  toes  by 
cutting  capers  on  them,  was  as  flat-footed  as  only  a 
Chicago-bred  girl  of  that  sylvan  period  could  make  it, 
and  —  but  for  the  fact  that  we  were  now  all  worshipping 
other  goddesses  —  our  grief  on  learning  that  she  had,  as 
an  alternative,  committed  matrimony,  might  have  been  too 
painful  for  mention. 

KINGS   OF   comedy:    JEFFERSON,    HACKETT,    SOTHERN,   ETC. 

If  our  staple  theatrical  food  was  wholesome  gristle- 
and-bone  tragedy,  we  nevertheless  now  and  then  permitted 
ourselves  to  indulge  in  seasons  of  romance  and  comedy, 
and  when  we  did  so,  it  was  to  partake  of  such  feasts  as 
the  present  generation  know  of  only  by  hearsay.  A  single 
star  from  the  galaxy,  albeit  of  the  first  magnitude,  and 
for  very  love  regarded  by  all  with  ever  more  magnifying 
eyes,  alone  remained  in  evidence  until  lately  —  Joseph  Jef- 
ferson. Alas!  where  is  one  now  to  look  for  any  worthy 
successors  to  Jefferson's  Rip,  Hackett's  Falstaff, 
Sothern's  Dundreary,  Chanfrau's  Mose,  Owen's 
Solon  Shingle;  or  for  the  equals  as  Irish  comedians 
of  Barney  Williams  or  Billy  Florence;  or  for  general 
comedians  to  compare  with  William  Warren,  Dan  Marble, 
and  (and  by  no  means  least)  J.  H.  McVicker  himself, 
whose  Grave-digger  and  Salem  Scudder  were  class- 
ical stage  portraitures?  And  was  there  ever  a  finer  old 
English  gentleman  on  the  boards  than  Mark  Smith,  a 
more  romantic  Claude  Melnotte  than  Fechter,  or  a  Juliet 
so  enthralling  as  Adelaide  Nielson? 

The  stock  company  of  the  twentieth  century,  when 


250  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

attempted,  is  no  doubt  on  an  average  a  better  all-round 
organization  than  prevailed  in  1862  —  just  as  talent  in 
all  directions  is  more  general  than  formerly  —  but  if  the 
average  be  higher,  the  great  peaks,  alas,  have  disappeared 
in  cloudland,  and  we  miss  them  all  the  more  because  of 
our  enlarged  outlook  and  keener  sense  of  appreciation. 


i 


SOMETHING  ABOUT  "SCOOPS" 

Thk  "Scoop"  Indioenous  to  Chicago  —  Its  Baleful  Influence  — 
A  "Timely"  Murder  "Scoop"  for  the  "Times"  —  "The  Ty- 
coon" AT  the  Laboring  Oar  —  The  Gentle  Art  of  Writing 
Introductions  —  Effect  of  the  "Scoop"  upon  Night  Report- 
ing—  A  Bold  Express  Company  Robbery  —  Bagged  with  the 
Boodle  —  "Uncle  Joe"  Medill  Scoops  his  own  Paper — Fi- 
nancial Flutter  Involving  "Pullman's  Bank"  —  Midnight 
Conference  of  Directors  —  Liquidation  of  the  Third  Na- 
tional—  The  Great  Pullman  "Scoop"  —  Agitation  of  the 
Real-estate  Market  —  The  Town  of  Pullman  Located  — 
Interview  with  George  M.  Pullman  —  Largest  Land  Pur- 
chase IN  the  History  of  the  City. 

MANY  of  US  who  in  the  early  Chicago  set  out  to  live 
by  the  pen  reportorial,  fell  ready  victims  to  all 
manner  of  atrocious  habits  through  a  mania  for 
"scoops."  That  its  old-time  Gotham  equivalent  "beats" 
is  a  far  milder  form  of  journalistic  obsession,  may  be  in- 
ferred from  the  motor  difference  in  the  terms;  and  now 
that  the  press  of  the  Borough  of  Manhattan  is  actually 
naturalizing  the  Chicago  coinage — even,  if  rather  reluc- 
tantly, for  reasons  of  amour  propre,  and  on  the  implied 
condition  that  Chicago  substitute  New  York's  "story" 
for  its  own  time-honored,  if  somewhat  inane,  "article"  — 
it  will  be  interesting  to  note  the  effect  of  the  more  com- 
pelling descriptive  on  the  somewhat  immobile  scribes  of 
Father  Knickerbocker's  bailiwick. 

ITS   BALEFUL   INFLUENCE 

Whatever  of  inward  grace  the  "scoop"  may  have  ex- 
perienced, or  of  outward  propriety  have  taken  on  in  later 

251 


252  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

years,  certain  it  is  that  when  first  discovered  —  or  was  it 
invented?  —  it  was  distinctly  aboriginal,  possessed  neither 
morals  nor  manners,  and  could  scarcely  be  distinguished 
from  the  *' whoop"  with  which  it  usually  announced  itself, 
and  from  which  its  baneful  virus  was  no  doubt  originally 
derived.  Under  its  malign  influence  the  exploiter  lost  all 
sense  of  proportion,  mistook  quantity  for  quality,  and 
any  bit  of  "news"  that  at  all  promised  to  be  "exclusive," 
was  strung  out  as  might  be  a  bale  of  hemp  in  a  rope  walk 

—  the  one  object  being  to  strike  terror  into  the  hearts  of 
competitors,  regardless  of  the  agony  inflicted  on  guileless 
readers. 

A  "timely"  murder  "scoop"  for  the  "times" 

One  incident  is  worth  recalling,  not  only  for  the  light 
it  throws  on  old-time  "scoop"  journalism,  but  also  be- 
cause it  bears  directly  on  the  evolution  of  an  important 
department  of  local  newspaper  work,  and  at  the  same 
time  offers  a  glimpse  of  that  great  journalistic  captain, 
Wilbur  F.  Storey,  at  the  laboring  oar.  It  happened  on 
the  day  when  the  Times j  in  1866,  moved  from  Randolph 
to  Dearborn  Street,  upon  the  present  site  of  the  Press 
Club,  and  into  the  first  distinctively  newspaper  building 
put  up  in  Chicago  —  unless  John  Went  worth's  old  "Jack- 
son Hall"  be  an  exception.  This  event  was  signalized  by 
a  change  in  the  form  from  a  four-  to  an  eight-page  paper 

—  the  first  move  in  that  direction  among  the  dailies  of  the 
West,  as  it  was  also  the  first  essay  in  Chicago  to  stereo- 
type the  forms. 

Up  to  this  date  the  "night  reporter"  had  only  a  nomi- 
nal existence.  None  was  expected  to  be  on  duty  after 
midnight,  unless  detained  by  some  matter  in  hand.  The 
writer  had,  however,  contracted  a  habit  of  haunting  the 


SOMETHING  ABOUT  "SCOOPS"  «5S 

precincts  of  the  old  Armory  Police  Station  to  a  much 
later  hour  (for  sketch  material,  if  nothing  else)  and  pro- 
longed his  vigil,  on  the  occasion  of  the  paper's  removal, 
to  the  limit  fixed  for  going  to  press.  That  hour  had 
passed,  yet  for  some  reason  he  still  lingered.  Then  two 
stalwart  policemen  hustled  in  a  blood-stained  prisoner; 
and  when  the  officers  charged  their  quarry  with  the  murder 
of  a  brother,  under  rather  blood-curdling  circumstances, 
this  deponent's  state  of  mind  can  be  imagined. 

Here,  indeed,  was  a  sensation;  and  a  "scoop"  surely, 
if  only  it  could  be  negotiated.  Something  told  me  I  had 
a  fighting  chance.  Matters  might  have  gone  amiss  with 
the  "make  up"  under  new  conditions.  So,  hastily  possess- 
ing myself  of  the  outlines  of  the  tragedy,  I  made  a  sprint 
for  the  office,  something  oVer  half  a  mile  away,  rushed 
panting  up  three  flights  directly  to  the  composing  room, 
and,  to  my  inexpressible  joy,  found  both  Mr.  Storey  and 
Charley  Wright,  the  city  editor,  busy  with  the  belated 
"forms."  In  those  days,  Mr.  Storey  always  remained  on 
deck  until,  in  his  own  expressive  phrase,  "the  last  dog  was 
hanged."  Both  he  and  the  city  editor,  like  myself,  were 
graduates  from  the  composing  room,  and  so,  at  a  pinch, 
could  be  of  vital  assistance  in  the  mechanical  department. 

"the  tycoon"  lends  a  hand 

Out  came  my  "scoop,"  straight  and  hot.  Charley  was 
instantly  on  fire;  but  the  "Tycoon"  —  as  we  were  wont  to 
call  Mr.  Storey  when  he  was  n't  listening  —  remained  pro- 
vokingly  unmoved;  and  when  I  stopped  a  moment  for 
breath,  he  coolly  turned  to  the  clock,  permitted  a  half- 
amused,  semi-sardonic  smile  to  light  up  his  chiselled,  enig- 
matic features  —  an  unmistakable  sign  of  inward  satisfac- 
tion —  before  he  quietly  remarked,  "  You  can  have  twenty 


254  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

minutes.  Cut  your  cloth  accordingly."  Then  to  the  fore- 
man, "Hold  what  men  are  left";  and  as  Charley  and  I 
were  making  a  rush  for  the  local  room,  he  called  after  us, 
"I'll  see  to  the  heading";  and,  "stick"  in  hand,  he  com- 
posed a  "corker"  for  crisp,  epigrammatic  English. 

Now,  accustomed  as  I  was  to  the  composition  of 
"scoops"  in  their  most  irrelevant  top-heavy  form,  I  was 
nevertheless  taken  a  good  deal  aback  when,  on  reaching 
the  local  room,  Charley  flashed  the  instruction,  "Start  in 
with  the  facts;  I'll  attend  to  the  introduction,"  thereby 
indicating  that  his  contribution  would  not  in  any  manner 
concern  itself  with  the  matter  actually  in  hand  —  nor  did 
it.  When  drink  was  at  the  bottom  of  any  trouble  we 
generally  went  back  no  farther  than  the  Flood,  and  made 
Father  Noah  our  point  of  departure,  anent  that  mooted 
spree  of  his;  and  it  was  the  same  when  the  tragedy  or 
comedy,  as  might  be,  had  colored  actors,  because  of  Brother 
Ham's  connection  with  that  watery  episode.  But  most 
often  the  start  was  made  directly  from  the  Garden  of 
Eden :  for  the  peccadilloes  are  few,  indeed,  that  cannot  in 
some  fashion  be  laid  at  the  door  of  Mother  Eve.  For  this 
occasion,  however,  Charley  made  a  start  just  outside  of 
Paradise,  by  dilating  on  the  direful  consequences  entailed 
by  the  difference  in  occupation  between  Cain  and  Abel. 

Thereafter  he  worked  along  in  fine  shape,  —  for  he 
was  a  past  master  at  this  sort  of  word-stringing,  —  pick- 
ing up  a  "blood-curdler"  here  and  another  there,  until, 
in  the  prescribed  twenty  minutes,  he  had  raked  together 
nearly  half  a  column  (leaded  minion)  of  as  choice  a  col- 
lection of  fratricides  as  ever  warmed  the  cockles  of  a  ghoul. 
Five  or  six  lines  to  a  sheet  was  the  order,  and  as  fast  as 
one  was  scrawled  it  was  rushed  to  the  composing  room,  so 
that   ten   minutes    after   we   had   finished,    the    waiting 


SOMETHING   ABOUT   "SCOOPS"  955 

"form"  was  ready  for  the  press,  with  our  "sensation" 
in  the  place  of  honor,  first  column,  first  page. 

EFFECT   OF   THE    "  SCOOP "    UPON    NIGHT   REPORTING 

It  is  needless  to  add  that  so  opportune  a  "scoop"  did 
this  youngster  no  harm  at  headquarters;  and  it  had  this 
effect  —  that  night  reporting  was  advanced  on  all  the 
papers  to  the  time  of  going  to  press. 

While  at  the  time  of  the  above  incident  the  night  re- 
porter's vigil  was  supposed  to  close  at  midnight,  only  a 
year  before  its  limit  was  eleven  o'clock;  and  how  it  came 
to  be  advanced  by  an  hour  may  also  be  worth  relating,  as 
a  newspaper  incident. 

An  American  Express  Company  delivery  wagon  had 
been  robbed  at  high  noon,  on  Lake  Street,  of  a  package 
containing  something  over  $30,000  in  greenbacks.  This 
occurrence  created  an  unusual  stir,  and  the  more  as  it 
was  obviously  the  outcome  of  a  conspiracy.  I  was  the  only 
permanent  "night  scout"  then  on  the  Chicago  press,  the 
rule  on  other  papers  being  for  different  members  of  the 
local  staff  to  take  turns  a  couple  of  weeks  at  a  time.  This 
naturally  gave  me  a  distinct  advantage  in  the  interpreta- 
tion of  esoteric  storm  signals.  My  competitors  at  this 
juncture  were  Jim  Chisolm,  lately  deceased,  and  Charley 
Wright,  then  for  the  Republican,  but  shortly  afterwards 
called  to  the  city  editorship  of  the  Times. 

Police  headquarters  were  at  this  time  established  in  the 
old  P.  F.  W.  Peck  home,  on  the  site  of  the  present  Stock 
Exchange.  While  dropping  in  and  out  during  the  early 
evening,  I  became  convinced  that  the  detectives  expected 
to  bag  the  robbers,  for  never  had  I  observed  so  much  sub- 
dued excitement  and  mystery  about  the  comings  and  go- 
ings of  the  "sleuths."     None  would  talk,  and  old  Bill 


456  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

Douglas,  the  veteran  of  the  force,  simply  could  n't  —  so 
did  the  tension  of  the  hour  aggravate  his  "stutter,"  ex- 
asperating enough,  when  not  amusing,  at  any  time.  Char- 
ley Wright  did  his  duty  hy  dropping  in  at  eleven  o'clock ; 
and  then,  at  peace  with  his  conscience,  went  quietly  to 
bed  —  as  I  too  would  have  done  under  ordinary  circum- 
stances —  for  at  that  time  it  devolved  on  the  night  man 
to  assist  at  the  police  court  "round  up"  the  next  morning. 
Shortly  after  midnight  my  vigil  was  duly  rewarded, 
for  in  trooped  the  entire  detective  squad  —  Kennedy,  a 
future  superintendent ;  Sherman,  a  future  deputy  superin- 
tendent ;  Dixon,  another ;  Douglas,  Ellis,  Kenney,  Elliott, 
et  al.  —  with  three  prisoners,  one  a  prepossessing  damsel, 
and  all  the  "boodle"  in  a  carpet-bag. 

THE   SCOOPER   "  HELD   UP  " 

Charley  Wright  being  out  of  the  way,  I  now  felt  pretty 
certain  of  a  glorious  "scoop,"  as  Jim  Chisolm,  a  new- 
comer, was  also  "doing"  amusements,  and  besides  was 
known  to  have  little  enthusiasm  for  the  police  end  of  the 
business.  However,  as  I  was  rushing  towards  the  office 
with  my  "scoop"  well  tucked  out  of  sight,  whom  should 
I  run  up  against  but  Jim,  homeward  bound.  And  then 
he  must  needs  in  the  most  exasperating  by-the-way  man- 
ner, inquire,  "Is  anything  doing  at  police  headquarters?" 
Of  course,  I  had  to  tell  him;  but,  frankly,  having  a  tooth 
drawn  would  have  been  a  comparatively  painless  operation. 
Poor  Charley  handed  in  his  resignation  the  next  morning. 
It  was,  however,  not  accepted.  When  I  met  him  the 
following  evening  his  chivalry  prompted  him  to  compli- 
ment my  enterprise,  his  warmth  tempered,  however,  by  a 
hint  that  it  would  have  been  better  for  the  "article,"  if  I 
had  not  described  the  "fence"  where  the  thieves  were 


JOSEPH    MEDILL 

(Owner  and  Editor  of  The  Chicago  Tribune) 


i 


SOMETHING  ABOUT  "SCOOPS"  «57 

captured  —  reported  by  the  detectives  as  rather  hand- 
somely furnished — as  "presenting  a  scene  of  Oriental 
magnificence."  The  criticism,  under  the  circimistances, 
from  one  considerably  older  and  more  experienced,  some- 
how etched  itself  into  my  brain,  and  in  all  the  five  and 
forty  years  that  have  since  passed,  I  have  seldom  modified 
an  expression  without  a  recrudescence  of  that  garish 
exaggeration. 

"uncle  job"  medill  "scoops"  his  own  paper 

Probably  the  most  unique  "scoop"  on  record  —  or  un- 
recorded— is  one  in  which  "Uncle  Joe"  assisted  me  in 
"laying  out"  his  own  paper.  The  Chicago  Tribune.  It 
was  during  the  aftermath  of  the  panic  of  1873. 

Bank  after  bank  had  gone  down  before  the  Northern 
Pacific  financial  blizzard;  even  the  Union  National,  up  to 
that  time  the  leading  financial  institution  in  the  West,  had 
for  a  time  succumbed  to  the  blast ;  and  yet  the  Third  Na- 
tional (of  which  J.  Irving  Pearce  was  president,  and 
Joseph  Medill  one  of  the  many  influential  directors)  stood 
erect;  and,  because  of  its  substantial  directorate,  was 
looked  upon  as  a  veritable  financial  Gibraltar. 

FINANCIAL   FLUTTER   INVOLVING   "pULLMAN's   BANK" 

In  common  parlance  it  was  known  as  "Pullman's 
bank,"  and  few  suspected  that  what  was  generally  regarded 
as  its  tower  of  strength  might  prove  a  source  of  weakness, 
for  Mr.  Pullman's  galleons,  like  those  of  many  another, 
were  at  that  time  embarked  on  an  exceedingly  treacherous 
sea.  To  be  sure,  Pullman  Company  stock  was  not  only 
paying  an  eight  per  cent  dividend,  but  earning  twice  that 
figure;  yet  for  some  reason  it  was  quoted  below  par.  Its 
leading  customer  at  that  time  —  as  it  still  may  be  —  was 


258  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

the  Pennsylvania  Railroad;  and  as  the  company's  con- 
tract was  about  to  expire,  it  made  something  of  a  gallery 
play  for  position,  by  threatening  to  follow  the  New  York 
Central  pohcy  of  that  time  and  set  up  a  line  of  "sleepers" 
for  itself.  In  the  meantime  President  Pearce,  as  a  resi- 
dent of  Hyde  Park,  had  lent  the  southern  outlying  parts 
a  strong  helping  hand  at  the  expense  of  the  bank;  and 
though  matters  generally  were  already  beginning  to  look 
up  quite  a  bit,  suburban  real  estate  continued  to  make 
lower  and  lower  records. 

In  these  circimistances,  a  rumor  gained  circulation  that 
the  Third  National  was  in  trouble.  The  report  was  gener- 
ally discredited;  but  knowing  something  of  the  Pullman 
situation  (indeed,  for  some  time  I  had  felt  the  banking 
pulse  daily  with  an  eye  almost  single  to  George  M.'s  finan- 
cial health)  I  was  quite  prepared  to  credit  the  rumor; 
and,  through  the  good  offices  of  one  on  the  inside,  learned 
that  a  meeting  of  the  directors  would  be  held  in  the  "dead 
waste  and  middle  of  the  night,"  in  an  upper  room  of  the 
bank  building,  southeast  corner  of  Dearborn  and  Wash- 
ington Streets  —  surely  a  most  unusual  proceeding,  and 
one  ominous  of  trouble. 

The  evening  was,  indeed,  well  advanced,  when  a  dozen 
or  more  of  the  sohd  men  of  the  city,  one  by  one,  made 
their  way  to  the  rendezvous.  Time  went  on  .  .  .  mid- 
night passed  .  .  .  one  o'clock  struck  .  .  .  then  twb  .  .  . 
and  still  the  conference  continued.  Here  were  the  ele- 
ments of  a  fine  "scoop."  But  what  if  matters  did  not 
culminate  until  too  late  for  the  press?  At  half -past  two 
by  the  clock  the  door  finally  opened,  and  a  very  sober 
body  of  men  filed  out.  I  tackled  one  after  another,  but 
not  a  word  could  I  extract. 

The  very  last  to  emerge  proved  to  be  Mr.  Medill.    He 


SOMETHING  ABOUT  "SCOOPS"  259 

greeted  me  cordially,  and  in  answer  to  a  query  as  to  the 
upshot  of  the  meeting,  answered  in  a  tone  of  mingled 
humor  and  indignation,  "Well,  I  have  just  seen  a  solvent 
bank  go  into  liquidation."  "Why  did  n't  Pullman  come 
to  its  rescue?"  I  ventured.  "That's  just  what  we  all 
would  like  to  know.  My  own  interest  is  small,  but  his  is 
large,  and  yet  he  had  hardly  a  word  to  say,"  was  the  reply. 
Then  followed  more  interesting  information,  and  I  was 
away. 

A  "scoop"  that  was  a  scoop 

By  holding  the  press  to  the  last  possible  moment  I 
was  enabled  to  make  a  considerable  feature  of  the  event, 
especially  with  the  aid  of  quotations  from  the  very  inter- 
esting and  obliging  editor-in-chief  of  the  Tribune.  I  more 
than  suspected  I  had  a  "scoop,"  for,  when  we  emerged 
from  the  building,  instead  of  turning  down  Dearborn 
Street,  towards  the  Tribune ^  Mr.  Medill  started  down 
Washington  towards  State  Street,  adding  to  his  "Good- 
night," "I  am  going  straight  home  and  get  some  sleep.'* 

The  fact  is,  "'Uncle  Joe,"  as  we  all  loved  to  call  him, 
had  come  into  the  newspaper  business  before  the  "scoop'* 
mania  became  epidemic,  and  his  age  now  held  him  im- 
mune. But  I  would  have  given  a  large  doughnut  to  have 
been  by  when  his  brother  Sam,  then  the  active  manager, 
read  what  the  editor-in-chief  had  confided  to  a  reporter 
for  the  Times  —  with  not  a  line  of  the  sensation  of  the  day 
in  his  own  paper! 

In  a  way  Mr.  Medill  was  right  when  he  said  he  had 
seen  a  solvent  bank  go  into  liquidation  —  that  is  to  say, 
it  was  potentially  solvent.  But  it  actually  took  a  couple 
of  decades  to  demonstrate  the  fact;  and  during  all  that 
time  a  portion  of  the  assets  remained  in  the  hands  of  a 
receiver  —  a  nice  job  for  a  certain  attorney,  lately  de- 


260  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

ceased,  who,  in  his  younger  days  at  least,  was  known  as 
the  handsomest  man  in  Chicago,  and  was  a  good  fellow 
besides. 

THE  GREAT  PULLMAN  "sCOOP" 

Another  "Pullman  scoop"  was  of  an  extraordinary 
real-estate  and  manufacturing  interest  when  "  negotiated  " 

—  the  slang  to  be  accepted  for  once  in  its  proper  meaning. 
In  the  later  seventies,  besides  other  duties,  I  had  charge 
of  the  real-estate  department  of  the  Times.  It  became 
known  that  the  Pullman  Company  intended  to  build  a 
manufacturing  town  somewhere,  but  whether  in  the 
environs  of  Chicago,  St.  Louis,  Kansas  City  or  other  West- 
ern point,  was  for  the  public  an  open  question  for  many 
months  —  and,  I  dare  say,  for  a  time  was  an  unsettled 
proposition  with  the  company  itself,  for  St.  Louis  offered 
large  inducements  in  the  way  of  land  grants.  What  fin- 
ally turned  the  scales  in  favor  of  Chicago,  according  to 
Mr.  Pullman's  declaration  to  me,  was  the  more  favorable 
climatic  conditions  presented  by  Chicago.  It  was  liis 
contention  that  during  the  summer  a  man  could  do  at  least 
ten  per  cent  more  work  near  Lake  Michigan  than  in  the 
Mississippi  Valley  in  the  latitude  of  St.  Louis. 

During  many  disturbing  weeks  —  for  the  whole  real- 
estate  market  in  at  least  three  cities  waited  on  the  decision 

—  frequent  announcements  were  made  that  the  directors 
of  the  company,  or  its  committee  on  site,  had  inspected 
this  locality,  or  that,  in  the  vicinity  of  one  city  or  another, 
and  so  the  wearisome  time  went  on.  Many  places  were 
visited  about  Chicago  —  some  to  the  north,  some  on  the 
Desplaines,  some  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Canal,  but 
somehow  none  near  Calumet  Lake,  a  fact  which  finally 
aroused  my  suspicions.    In  the  meantime,  unverifiable  re- 


GEORGE    M.   PULLMAN 


SOMETHING  ABOUT  "SCOOPS"  261 

ports  of  large  transactions  in  that  locality  floated  about  in 
real-estate  circles.  Finally,  I  pinned  down  an  actual  sale 
of  large  dimensions,  with  Colonel  "Jim"  Bowen  as  the 
ostensible  purchaser.  That  opened  my  eyes,  for  the  col- 
onel's circumstances  at  this  time  put  such  a  transaction  on 
his  own  account  altogether  out  of  the  question. 

THE  TOWN   OF   PULLMAN    LOCATED 

Almost  daily  at  this  time  Mr.  Pullman  was  inter- 
viewed on  the  situation  by  the  real-estate  newspaper 
phalanx — Henry  D.  Lloyd  was  then  in  charge  for  the 
Tribune  —  but  "Nothing  decided,"  was  the  stereotyped 
reply.  By  and  by  I  discovered  that  almost  invariably  if 
I  went  at  a  certain  hour,  "Colonel  Jim"  would  be  largely 
in  evidence  about  the  Pullman  headquarters,  with  an  air 
of  doing  a  "land  office  business,"  and,  as  it  turned  out, 
he  was  actually  doing  something  very  much  like  it.  Slowly 
I  picked  up  clue  after  clue,  pieced  this  to  that,  and  one  day 
felt  in  a  position  to  say  to  Mr.  Pullman  that  I  had  located 
the  site.  He  seemed  amused,  and  laughingly  replied  that 
he  was  pleased  to  hear  it,  as  it  would  save  the  committee 
on  site  a  lot  of  trouble;  and,  as  some  of  them  were  that 
very  day  looking  at  a  Desplaines  River  site  near  River- 
side —  a  trip  most  ostentatiously  advertised  in  advance  — 
he  thought  he  would  telegraph  them  to  stop  looking,  and 
come  back  to  town. 

NEGOTLATING   A    "  SCOOP " 

It  was  always  a  pleasure  to  interview  Mr.  Pullman, 
for  he  had  a  way  of  making  you  feel  at  ease,  and  I  entered 
heartily  into  the  humor  of  his  jocularity.  But,  as  in  aC 
bantering  way,  I  let  out  link  after  link  of  my  chain  of 


262  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

evidence,  he  became  more  and  more  serious,  and  finally 
—  without  committing  himself,  however  —  took  the 
ground  that  even  if  true,  in  view  of  the  importance  of  their 
plans,  no  paper  having  the  good  of  Chicago  at  heart 
ought  by  premature  publication  to  interfere  with  them. 
He  pressed  this  point  more  and  more,  and  finally  made 
frank  confession  that  I  was  on  the  right  track,  by  ac- 
knowledging that  they  had  already  bought  many  hundreds 
of  acres,  were  negotiating  for  many  hundreds  more  which 
would  be  advanced  to  prohibitive  prices  by  publication, 
and  the  whole  scheme  would  thus  be  wrecked.  On  the 
other  hand,  if  I  withheld  publication,  he  promised  that  I 
should  have  the  matter  exclusively  —  the  whole  vast  im- 
provement scheme,  unique  plan  of  administration,  etc. 
As  there  was  the  danger  in  waiting  that  one  of  my  rivals 
might  get  hold  of  the  facts,  exploit  them,  and  thus  turn 
the  tables  on  me,  I  replied  that  the  matter  was  of  too  great 
moment  for  me  to  take  the  responsibility  of  holding  the 
news,  and  that  I  should  have  to  consult  Mr.  Storey.  It 
happened  that  Mr.  Storey  had  invested  quite  extensively  in 
South  Side  boulevard  property;  and,  as  a  great  improve- 
ment southward  could  not  fail  to  add  to  the  value  of  his 
holding,  and  there  was  the  further  prospect  of  a  more 
complete  exclusive  account  later  than  was  possible  with 
my  skeleton  information,  he  gave  a  ready  assent. 

LAEGEST   LAND    PURCHASE   IN   THE   HISTORY    OF   THE    CITY 

So  it  happened  that  about  two  weeks  later  I  exploited 
to  the  extent  of  nearly  a  page  in  the  Sunday  edition,  what 
was  undoubtedly  the  largest  and  most  important  single 
land  purchase  and  manufacturing  enterprise  in  the  history 
of  the  city.    There  was  only  one  condition  on  which  Mr. 


SOMETHING  ABOUT  "SCOOPS"  «63 

Pullman  strenuously  insisted  —  and  this  is  of  special  in- 
terest in  view  of  his  attitude  during  the  memorable  strike 
of  a  dozen  years  ago,  that  convulsed  the  whole  country  — 
namely,  that  the  enterprise  should  in  no  manner  be  pre- 
sented as  a  philanthropic  one,  but,  in  all  its  aspects,  as  a 
strictly  business  proposition. 


A  PEOPLE'S  PARTY  REGIME 

Chicago  Becomes  "Wide  Open"  —  The  Mayor  and  Others  have 
A  Private  View  of  the  "Cancan"  —  They  See  it  again  "from 
A  Strictly  Artistic  Point  of  View"  —  Chicago  is  Visited  by 
the  King  of  the  Sandwich  Islands  —  His  Honor  Achieves 
Some  Happy  Deliverances  —  How  a  Secret  Conference  was 
Reported. 

JOSEPH  MEDILL,  Chicago's  "  fire-proof  "  Mayor 
—  elected  amidst  the  debris  of  the  great  conflagration 
—  had  permitted  himself  to  become,  under  pressure, 
and  quite  against  natural  inclination,  what  our  German 
fellow-citizens  are  pleased  to  call  a  "  Mucker  "  —  i.  e.,  a 
believer  in,  or  enforcer  of,  an}i:hing  resembling  sumptuary 
laws.  Hence  there  arose,  in  room  of  the  Democratic  party, 
a  conglomerate  that  dubbed  itself  a  "People's  Party"; 
and  great  was  the  reign  thereof.  Its  chief  promoter  was 
A.  C.  Hesing,  a  Republican  "boss,"  and  owner  of  the 
Staats-Zeitung.  For  its  standard-bearer  the  combination 
chose  one  Harvey  D.  Colvin,  a  puissant  chief  among  bons 
vivants,  and  a  connoisseur  par  eoccellence  in  moral  bric-a 
brae.  Furthermore,  what  Harvey  did  n't  know  about  good 
things,  as  understood  in  such  company,  was  readily  sup- 
plied by  him  who  was  elected  City  Treasurer  on  the  same 
ticket — ^namely  that  hail-fellow-well-met,  Dan  O'Hara, 
a  rare  combination,  for  a  Scotchman,  of  Yankee  shrewd- 
ness, German  Gemilthlichkeit,  and  Hibernian  wit  and 
humor. 

It  was  writ  large  in  the  People's  Party  bond  that  under 
its  regime  the  town  should  be  "wide  open" — and  open  it 

264 


A  PEOPLES  PARTY  REGIME  Wr> 

became,  nearly  to  the  splitting  point.  As  if  by  magic  all 
its  "joints"  limbered  up,  ordinances  that  had  been  as  rigid 
as  the  reputed  laws  of  the  Medes  and  Persians  became  as 
elastic  as  the  revised  consciences  of  the  police  magistrates 
who  interpreted  them ;  and  the  city's  reputation  for  things 
"free  and  easy"  turned  hitherward  the  steps  of  all  (if  they 
had  the  fare,  or  the  walking  was  good)  who  yearned  to 
lead  untranmielled  lives. 

MAYOR   COLVIN   AS   A    MORAL    CENSOR 

In  a  way,  Mayor  Colvin  proved  himself  a  fully  up-to- 
date  Haroun-al-Raschid.  That  is  to  say,  he  was  not  satis- 
fied with  a  mere  report  on  doings  within  his  domain,  but 
felt  it  his  duty,  whenever  a  matter  that  lay  particularly 
within  his  specialties  came  up  for  decision,  to  see  and  judge 
for  himself.  Accordingly,  when  one  morning  the  town 
awoke  to  find  its  virgin  walls  covered  with  shocking,  if 
fascinating,  verisimilitudes  of  a  live  and  kicking  "cancan" 
aggregation  —  imported  directly  from  Paris  (to  follow 
the  posters),  whither  had  been  duly  flashed  news  of  Chi- 
cago's lately  awakened  aspirations  to  see  what  life  is  like 
"with  the  lid  oflP" — all  the  town  was  agog.  When  the 
newspaper  representatives  at  the  Rookery  Court  called 
bluff  Harvey's  attention  to  the  threatened  invasion,  and 
in  their  capacity  as  moral  censors  asked  what  he  intended 
to  do  about  it,  he  did  not,  as  many  another  in  his  place 
would  have  done,  vow  there  should  be  none  of  that  sort 
of  thing  in  his  dominion;  but,  with  a  reassuring  air,  ad- 
vised the  boys  not  to  lose  any  sleep  over  the  matter,  as  he 
would  give  it  his  personal  attention.    And  he  did. 

Whether  the  episode  hereinafter  to  be  related  hap- 
pened after  or  before  a  certain  King  of  Bavaria  had  those 
private   performances  of  Wagner's   music  dramas,  this 


266  BYGM3NE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

chronicler  does  not  at  this  moment  recall.  Nor  does  it 
really  matter  with  whom  the  idea  originated ;  for  it  suffices 
to  say  that  the  Munich  incident  had  in  a  way  its  counter- 
part in  Chicago  —  with  this  difference  only,  that  the  music 
of  Offenbach  was  substituted  for  that  of  the  Bayreuth 
master,  while  Mayor  Colvin  filled  the  role  of  King  Lud- 
wig:  though,  for  appearances'  sake,  supported  by  a  few 
choice  spirits.  These  included  that  unmatched  trio, 
known  to  the  town  in  its  accommodating  vernacular  as 
"Dan  O'Hary,  'Colonel'  Clary,  and  Jim  McGary,"  in 
their  reverse  order  the  veritable  originals  of  Peter  Dunne's 
*'Mr.  Dooley,  Hinnissy,  and  Hogan." 

A  PRIVATE  VIEW   OF  THE   CANCAN   TOO  LOW-TONED 

Amusement  halls  in  Chicago  were  scarce  about  this 
time,  but  of  churches  a  goodly  number  had  been  spared; 
and  as  there  was  a  feeling  that  under  the  reign  of  Harvey 
far  fewer  would  satisfy  all  reasonable  demands,  one  with 
Presbyterian  affiliations,  at  the  intersection  of  Halsted  and 
Harrison  Streets,  was  hastily  provided  with  a  stage,  and 
here  the  "kicking"  that  was  not  already  being  done  by 
a  scandalized  public,  was  advertised  to  take  place  by  the 
aforesaid  aggregation. 

When  the  troupe  arrived,  its  manager  was  immediately 
invited  to  the  City  Hall  for  solemn  conference,  to  which 
only  People's  Party  connoisseurs  were  admitted,  and 
whereat,  to  allay  the  public  alarm,  it  was  decided  that  His 
Honori,  with  a  cabinet  of  experts,  should  attend  a  special 
performance  the  following  afternoon  —  the  said  perform- 
ance to  be  in  all  respects  an  exact  replica  of  the  simon-pure 
article  to  be  offered  the  public  provided  the  verdict  of  the 
Court  upon  the  sample  was  permissive. 

The  thing  was,  of  course,  too  good  to  keep,  especially 


A  PEOPLE'S  PARTY  REGIME  267 

by  one  with  Dan  O'Hara's  sense  of  humor ;  and  so,  under 
promise  not  to  say  anything  about  it  in  the  papers,  he  let 
a  few  of  us  into  the  secret ;  and  in  turn  we  fixed  things  with 
the  manager  to  be  "let  in,"  if  not  exactly  on  the  "ground 
floor,"  at  least  to  the  opportunity  of  observing  from  the 
organ  loft  all  that  would  be  submitted  for  mayoral 
judgment. 

His  Honor  and  party  occupied  a  box,  and  while  the 
"champagne"  that  flowed  so  freely  in  the  "  Jardin  Ma- 
bille  "  of  the  stage  was  common  cider,  that  which  regaled 
the  choice  spirits  in  the  jury  box  had  the  best  local 
guarantee.  Without  wasting  space  on  details,  it  may  be 
said  that  the  performance  offered  for  ofiicial  inspection 
would  scarcely  have  raised  a  blush  among  the  board  of 
deacons  who  still  controlled  the  property,  so  low-toned  and 
underdone  was  it ;  and  while  a  verdict  of  unreserved  moral 
approval  was  freely  rendered,  it  was  voiced  in  accents  that 
made  it  plain  that  the  show  had  not  come  up  to  expecta- 
tions, regarded  from  a  poster  point  of  view  —  as  if  the  art 
had  not  been  all  "for  art's  sake,"  but  too  strictly  modified 
to  conventional  standards. 

THEY  SEE  IT  AGAIN  "  FROM  A  STRICTLY  ARTISTIC  POINT  OF 

VIEW  " 

"  Oh,  well,  that  is  another  matter,"  quoth  the  agree- 
able manager;  and  he  would  not  mind  letting  it  be  known 
that  his  artists,  if  put  to  it,  could  do  things  in  the  way  of 
skirt-swishing,  which,  from  a  strictly  artistic  point  of  view, 
would  leave  little  to  the  imagination.  The  jury  there- 
upon sized  itself  up,  and  voted  unanimously,  that  inasmuch 
as  their  official  status  had  lapsed  with  the  rendition  of 
the  verdict  on  the  regulation  article,  they  could  now  regard 
themselves  as  connoisseurs-in-general,  and  let  art  have  its 


268  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

fling.  Thereupon  it  flung ;  and,  as  now  everything  came  up 
easily  to  the  expectations  founded  on  the  posters,  the 
committee,  which  before,  for  the  benefit  of  the  public,  had 
given  the  show  a  moral  verdict,  now  privately  added  for  the 
information  of  the  elect  that  it  had  also  high  artistic  poten- 
tialities. When,  later,  there  arose  much  clamor  against  the 
unrestraint  of  the  exhibition.  His  Honor  after  due  notice, 
attended  a  public  performance.  This,  while  it  was  hardly 
as  subdued  as  the  ofiicial  rehearsal,  was  yet  so  much  below 
what  he  knew  from  personal  observation  the  artists  were 
capable  of  doing,  that  he  pronounced  the  modification  a 
happy  compromise. 

CHICAGO   IS   VISITED   BY   THE   KING   OF  THE   SANDWICH 

ISLANDS 

During  Mr.  Colvin's  administration  the  city  had  many 
.distinguished  visitors,  and  the  manner  in  which  they  were 
officially  received  and  entertained  supplied  the  wits  with 
never-ending  topics.  Once  an  actual  live  king  turned  him- 
self loose  under  Harvey's  mayoral  chaperonage,  and  that 
beat  Barnum's  Circus  —  then,  as  a  fitting  coincidence,  ex- 
hibiting on  the  lake  front  —  fairly  hollow.  Having  seen 
the  King  duly  installed  at  the  Grand  Pacific,  the  kind- 
hearted  Mayor,  taking  cognizance  of  his  guest's  appear- 
ance, considerately  remarked  that  he  would  give  him  an 
opportunity  to  retire  and  "  clean  up  a  bit."  His  Kingship 
hailed  from  the  Sandwich  Islands,  now  among  Uncle 
Sam's  more  or  less  valuable  possessions;  and  what  His 
Honor,  a  bit  shy  in  his  ethnology,  apparently  took  for  sun- 
dry layers  of  annexed  American  soil,  was  but  the  color  of 
the  integument  with  which  nature  had  swathed  His  Royal 
Nib's  august  body. 

But  Harvey  could  do  even  better  than  this.    A  few 


A  PEOPLE'S  PARTY  REGIME  269 

days  later  there  was  a  reception  for  His  Majesty  at  the 
Board  of  Trade,  and  His  Honor  having  heen  asked  to 
make  the  presentation,  opened  up  in  this  wise:  *'  Gen- 
tlemen of  the  Board  of  Trade:  I  take  great  pleasure  in 
introducing  to  you  the  King  of  the  Cannibal  Islands." 
This  gave  the  "boys"  a  chance  to  let  themselves  go,  and 
seldom  has  royalty  been  more  vociferously  acclaimed  — 
greatly  to  Harvey's  surprise,  who  for  the  life  of  him 
couldn't  imagine  why  the  members  should  proclaim  them- 
selves such  enthusiastic  monarchists.  His  Majesty  by  this 
time  knew  his  Colvin,  and  entered  heartily  into  the  fun. 
However,  when  on  some  public  occasion  Lord  Duf- 
ferin,  then  Governor  General  of  Canada,  became  the  city's 
guest,  this  official  was  so  delighted  with  Harvey's  hearty 
and  bluff  manner,  that  he  proclaimed  him  "an  ideal  Mayor 
of  a  democratic  city." 

HOW  A   SECRET   CONFERENCE   WAS   REPORTED 

While  the  sole  issue  kept  before  the  people  during  the 
electoral  campaign  had  been  one  of  "  personal  liberty,"  it 
was  quickly  discovered  after  election  that  there  were 
sundry  loaves  and  fishes  to  be  distributed,  and  great  was 
the  scramble  for  them  among  the  various  divisions  and 
subdivisions.  It  was  finally  decided  among  the  leaders  to 
hold  a  conference  over  the  matter.  A  private  parlor  at 
the  Sherman  House  was  selected  for  the  meeting,  and  the 
members  were  put  on  honor  not  to  divulge  any  part  of  the 
proceedings.  The  conference  was  set  for  eight  o'clock  in 
the  evening.  During  the  day  the  position  was  carefully 
reconnoitred  by  vedettes  for  the  Times.  It  was  not  only 
found  that  the  walls  were  too  thick  for  ears,  but  that  the 
steamfitters  and  plumbers  had  left  no  smallest  chink  by 
which  sounds  might  be  conveyed  to  rooms  above  or  below. 


«70  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

Then,  when  despair  was  about  to  possess  the  souls  of  the 
heroic  band,  "  Little  Frank  "  McClenthen  nearly  fell  over 
himself  with  an  idea.  There  was  a  sideboard  at  one  end 
of  the  room.  It  had  doors  that  opened  to  right  and  left, 
while  above  these  was  a  drawer,  which  when  removed 
added  sufficient  space  for  a  diminutive  imp  like  himself  to 
do  business  in.  The  head  clerk  had,  of  course,  to  be  made  a 
party  to  the  conspiracy,  and  when  he  had  good-naturedly 
given  liis  consent,  the  success  of  the  scheme  was  practically 
assured. 

Poor  "Little  Frank" !  Once  in,  he  could  hardly  wiggle 
his  big  toe  —  and  there  he  was  forced  to  remain  from 
shortty  after  seven  o'clock  until  past  midnight  —  more 
than  five  mortal  hours !  Lest  he  suffer  from  lack  of  air — 
for  a  heavy  cloth  had  been  thrown  over  the  whole,  to  con- 
ceal the  fact  that  the  drawer  had  been  removed,  —  holes 
were  bored  in  the  back.  A  bottle  vdth  water,  and  another 
with  an  anti-cough  preparation,  were  introduced;  and  in 
addition  the  prospective  captive  was  fitted  out  with  no  end 
of  advice,  especially  as  to  the  best  manner  of  counter- 
acting the  inevitable  desire  to  sneeze. 

Well,  all  things  come  to  an  end,  and  so  did  this  con- 
ference, with  "Little  Frank"  in  a  state  of  virtual  collapse. 
But  with  rubbing  and  douching  he  was  soon  restored,  and 
by  reference  to  his  notes  taken  in  the  dark,  and  hence  nearly 
indecipherable,  he  managed  to  reel  off  to  a  trio  of  short- 
hand men  a  two-column  story  of  true  inwardness.  That 
it  made  mighty  interesting  reading  goes  without  saying, 
for  there  had  been  a  deal  of  plain  speaking  by  one  and  an- 
other ;  and  through  publicity  no  end  of  feuds  were  started. 

But  who  had  given  the  precious  business  away?  That 
was  the  all-important  question.  Anathema  unto  him  I 
Two  of  the  participants  felt   sure  they  knew,  though 


A  PEOPLES  PARTY  REGIME  271 

neither  could  for  the  life  of  him  imagine  why  the  other 
had  done  it.  Tom  Foley,  of  billiard  fame,  had  been  elected 
alderman,  and  at  the  meeting  had  held  a  very  confidential 
confabulation  with  Sheriff -elect  Agnew ;  and  almost  every 
word  of  it  appeared  in  print.  So  Tom  knew  it  was 
Agnew;  and  Agnew  was  even  more  sure  it  was  Tom,  for 
the  latter  was  well  known  to  be  on  rather  intimate  footing 
with  most  of  the  newspaper  boys.  They  had  accused  each 
other  roundly,  and  Tom  came  to  the  office,  in  sad  spirits, 
for  light.  As  neither  had  as  yet  communicated  his  sus- 
picions to  an  outsider,  it  was  deemed  advisable  to  let  the 
principals  into  the  secret,  while  enjoined  to  silence  lest  the 
Sherman  House  people  suffer  —  for  this  hostelry  had  be- 
come the  "People's  Party"  headquarters.  "By  thunder  I" 
was  Tom's  exclamation,  "and  we  were  both  leaning  on 
that  confounded  sideboard  when  having  our  talk." 


"  THE  GOOD  OLD  TIMES  " 

Men  and  Manners  of  Fifty  Years  Ago  —  The  Significance  of 
"Honest  Old  Abe"  —  Politics  more  a  Game  of  Intrigue  Then 
than  Now  —  Lincoln's  Nomination  for  President  —  His  In- 
nate Force  of  Character —  Dr.  Ray's  Tribute  to  the  Man  of 
the  People  —  The  Self-seeking  Spirit  more  Conspicuous  than 
AT  Present  —  Men  of  High  Character  Now  in  Demand  for 
Public  Offices  —  The  Present  Age  more  Democratic  than 
the  Past  —  The  Dollar  more  Worshipped  Then  than  Now  — 
The  Hold-fast  Landowner  —  The  Trust  a  Better  Employer 
than  the  Individual  Taskmaster  —  James  H.  Bowen  a  Type  of 
the  Makers  of  Chicago  —  His  Effort  to  Reclaim  the  Calu- 
met Swamp. 

WHATSOEVER  the  age,  there  is  usually  some  in- 
dividual who  sums  up  in  his  character  the  ideal  pos- 
sibihties  of  his  time  and  place;  and  this  exception 
to  what  may  have  been  a  rule  of  commonplace  sordidness, 
is  in  later  years  apt  to  be  held  up  for  public  admiration 
as  a  typical  product  of  those  "good  old  times."  It  would 
be  pleasant  to  believe,  for  example,  that  Abraham  Lincoln 
was  in  all  respects  a  logical  outcome  of  his  environment; 
yet  it  is  much  nearer  the  truth  to  say  that  it  was  precisely 
by  the  characteristics  in  which  he  was  greatest  that  he 
most  departed  from,  and  rose  above,  his  surroundings,  or 
they  would  have  held  him  to  a  commonplace,  self-seeking 
career.  The  average  lawyer  in  a  new  community  is  seldom 
a  pattern  of  civic  virtues.  His  studies  are  largely  confined 
to  modes  of  escape  from  the  law's  meshes;  and  this  only 
too  frequently  for  his  individual  behoof.  Furthermore, 
in  the  political  field  he  is  apt  to  be  a  common  trickster. 

«72 


"THE  GOOD  OLD  TIMES"  £73 

THE  SIGNIFICANCE  OF  " HONEST  OLD  ABE" 

The  public  distrust  of  the  kind  of  "limbs  of  the  law" 
that  grew  up  with  the  country  fifty  and  more  years  ago, 
was  deeply  rooted.  It  was  the  same  in  all  the  commun- 
ities I  came  in  touch  with,  and  they  were  many.  There 
might  be  one  in  every  half-dozen  in  whom  some  trust  was 
placed ;  but  this  rule  seldom  applied  to  one  who  succeeded 
in  his  profession.  The  poor  widow  might  go  to  the  ex- 
ception, to  save  herself  from  being  over-reached  by  a 
neighbor;  but  as  most  of  the  litigation  was  in  connection 
with  some  dubious  transaction  in  which  the  kettle  was 
usually  full  brother  to  the  pot,  it  followed  that  each  wanted 
the  smartest,  and  the  demand  was  for  men  who  knew  the 
law  —  on  the  shady  side.  Why  was  it  that  over  a  wide 
territory  Lincoln  became  known  as  "  Honest  Abe"  ? 
Clearly  there  must  have  been  something  the  matter  with 
the  other  fellows  that  he  should  be  so  peculiarly  distin- 
guished. To-day,  a  fair  amount  of  honesty  in  a  member 
of  the  bar  above  the  shyster  class  is  generally  assumed; 
and  it  is  only  among  professional  gamblers  that  an  ex- 
ception is  occasionally  complimented  with  an  "Honest" 
prefix. 

POLITICS  MORE  A  GAME  OF  INTEIGUE  THEN  THAN  NOW 

In  the  formative  days  of  Lincoln,  politics  was  far  more 
a  game  of  intrigue  and  compromise  than  it  is  to-day.  The 
great  commoner  forced  the  issue  against  Douglas  in  op- 
position to  every  kind  of  discouragement  among  his  en- 
tourage, and  thus  raised  the  memorable  debate  far  above 
any  level  hitherto  attained  in  similar  contests.  And  when 
he  stood  before  the  nation  as  a  candidate  for  the  presi- 
dential nomination,  his  immediate  sponsors  at  the  Wig- 
wam Convention  added  little  to  the  greatness  of  their  time. 


874  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

The  name  of  Seward  was  presented  by  a  William  M. 
Evarts,  and  the  nomination  was  seconded  by  a  Carl 
Schurz.  The  name  of  Lincoln  was  presented  by  an  N.  B. 
Judd. 

This  comparison  in  personal  values  is  made  less  for 
the  purpose  of  calling  attention  to  a  conspicuous  difference 
in  mental  calibre,  than  to  bring  into  the  perspective  of  an 
event  so  epochal  as  this  Convention  and  its  transcendent 
issues,  the  absence  in  the  surroundings  of  the  rail-splitter 
of  any  bracing  force  or  high  vouchment  of  character.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  Lincoln  was  in  no  position  to  dictate  to 
the  forces  that  were  making  for  his  nomination;  in  other 
words,  he  had  not  the  power  to  determine  how  or  by  whom 
his  name  should  be  presented. 

Lincoln's  nomination  for  president 
Few  candidates  were  ever  more  completely  in  the  hands 
of  their  friends ;  and  had  not  an  invincible  destiny  taken  a 
hand  also,  the  outcome  might  well  have  been  very  different. 
There  was,  to  be  sure,  a  strong  current  direct  from  the 
people  of  the  Middle  West,  that  was  lifting  their  choice 
into  a  place  of  vantage;  but  this  tide  was  by  no  means  ir- 
resistible ;  and  as  a  choice  from  among  Lincoln's  managers, 
N.  B.  Judd  was  perhaps  as  good  as  another,  and  even  pre- 
ferable to  some.  Yet  how  important  the  possession  of 
elevated  character  by  the  presenters  really  was  will  be  ap- 
parent, when  the  nominating  procedure  —  so  deficient  in 
the  forensic  display  so  much  relied  on  in  these  days  to  bring 
support  to  a  candidate  —  is  taken  into  account.  This  is 
all  that  happened  by  way  of  presentation: 

Mr.  Evarts,  of  New  York:  "In  the  order  of  business  before  the 
Convention,  Sir,  I  take  the  liberty  to  name  as  a  candidate  to  be  nomi- 
nated by  this  Convention  for  the  office  of  President  of  the  United 
States,  William  H.  Seward." 


"THE  GOOD  OLD  TIMES"  275 

Mr.  Judd,  of  Illinois :  "  I  desire  on  behalf  of  the  delegation  from 
Illinois,  to  put  in  nomination,  as  a  candidate  for  President,  Abraham 
Lincoln,  of  Illinois." 

HIS   INNATE  FORCE  OF  CHARACTER 

There  is  something  besides  human  heredity  and  the  in- 
fluences of  environment  that  goes  to  the  making  of  the 
world's  exemplars.  Some  day  we  may  realize  that  there 
are  also  spiritual  heredities,  however  descended,  to  which 
human  obstacles  are  but  as  foundation  stones  to  towering 
heights.  The  more  our  great  commoner  is  studied,  —  the 
more  light  is  shed  upon  his  figure  and  its  surroundings,  — 
the  grander  does  he  rise  above  his  fellows;  and  they  were 
by  no  means  small  men  against  whom  the  village  lawyer 
was  finally  called  upon  to  match  himself  in  the  nation's 
capital.  But  even  there,  few  were  of  any  help  to  him  in  the 
great  struggle.    He  alone  wears  the  crown  of  self-sacrifice. 

However  low  men's  standards,  or  however  much  alloy 
in  their  own  mintage  of  character,  they  instinctively  rec- 
ognize the  true  ring  in  another's,  and  pay  homage  to  it. 
The  forces  that  brought  about  Lincoln's  nomination  were 
by  no  means  all  inspired  by  the  vision  of  the  moral  great- 
ness of  the  leader.  Sordid  ambitions  and  mean  revenges 
played  no  small  part  in  the  consummation;  and  his  man- 
agers incurred  obligations  that  proved  costly  both  to  his 
administration  and  the  nation  when  pajrment  was  exacted. 

But  because  of  this  murky  side,  not  only  was  the  silent 
force  of  character  exemplified  by  the  candidate  brought 
into  greater  relief,  but  an  added  emphasis  was  given  to  the 
deeply  moving  current  of  pubHc  appreciation  and  demand. 
That  the  best  instincts  of  the  masses  at  the  heart  of  the 
continent  were  deeply  enlisted  by  the  qualities  of  the  man 
who  had  grown  up  in  their  midst,  admits  of  no  doubt.  Nay, 


276  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

more.  There  were  those  whose  eyes  were  anointed  to  look 
into  the  future;  to  feel  what  manner  of  man  was  needed, 
and  what  manner  of  man  Providence  had  placed  at  the 
nation's  service.  In  proof,  I  give  these  inspired  words, 
taken  from  an  editorial  by  Dr.  Charles  H.  Ray,  editor  of 
The  Chicago  Press  and  Tribune,  and  published  on  the 
morning  following  the  nomination.  It  bore  the  caption: 
"The  Man  of  the  People." 

DR.  ray's  tribute  TO  THE  MAN  OF  THE  PEOPLE 
"Ever  and  anon  there  springs  from  the  bosom  of  the  people  a  man 
qualified  to  meet  the  people's  highest  wants  in  great  emergencies  —  a 
man  who  by  reason  of  his  many  virtues,  his  moral  heroism  and  his 
commanding  qualities,  is  recognized  by  all  classes  as  one  endowed  and 
anointed  for  a  great  work.  His  credentials  bear  the  impress  of  a 
power  whose  fiat  is  irresistible,  and  his  progress  toward  the  appointed 
goal  is  as  sure  as  the  march  of  destiny.  Scorning  adventitious  aids, 
trampling  under  foot  every  suggestion  of  mere  policy,  with  heart  all 
athrob  with  pure  and  lofty  aspirations  and  generous  aims,  he  moves 
right  onward  with  the  assured  tread  and  the  unquailing  eye  of  a  born 
conqueror.  .  .  .  No  other  man  in  the  nation  stands  so  near  the 
popular  heart  to-day;  and  in  the  exigencies  to  which  corrupt  rulers 
have  brought  our  Government,  and  amid  the  perils  which  on  every 
hand  threaten  our  free  institutions,  the  people  turn  instinctively  to  him 
as  the  man  for  the  occasion  —  as  one  who  has  been  led  by  Providence 
through  all  the  experiences  of  lowly  life,  through  labor  and  privation, 
through  struggles  and  sacrifices,  into  self-reliance,  into  honest  sim- 
plicity of  life,  into  nobleness  and  purity  of  character,  into  a  love  of 
justice,  of  truth  and  freedom,  that  he  might  be  fitted  for  the  work." 

To-day,  half  a  century  later,  a  united  nation  responds 
to  these  prophetic  words  with  a  heart-felt  "Amen!" 

THE   SELF-SEEKING   SPIRIT   MORE   CONSPICUOUS   THAN 
AT  PRESENT 

In  Lincoln's  time  the  folks  in  homespun  had  many 
sterling  qualities  allied  to  the  character-stuff  with  which 


"THE  GOOD  OLD  TIMES"  277 

the  great  martyr  was  so  richly  endowed;  but  in  behalf 
of  the  self-constituted  gentry,  large  allowances  had  to 
be  made  because  of  the  struggle  for  existence.  No,  the 
fittest  to  survive  of  that  period  were  no  models  for  the 
present.  Almost  all  in  any  manner  associated  with 
the  founder  of  Christianity  have  been  provided  with  a  ca- 
nonical halo.  There  is  danger  that  all  who  in  any  manner 
"knew  Lincoln"  will  some  day  be  similarly  endowed. 

None  can  feel  the  glamour  of  those  other  days  more 
than  the  writer.  As  to  much,  he  has  now  vision  only  for 
the  good  that  was  in  his  contemporaries  of  fifty  years  ago. 
But  when  he  looks  about  to-day,  and  notes  to  what  high 
ideals  so  many  of  his  fellow-men  consecrate  their  lives, 
and  then  recalls  how  limited,  how  narrow,  how  self-centred 
was  much  of  the  best  in  the  past,  he  is  filled  with  profound 
gratitude  that  he  has  lived  to  see  the  dawn  of  a  kindlier 
humanity. 

MEN   OF   HIGH    CHARACTER   NOW    IN   DEMAND   FOR   PUBLIC 

OFFICES 

It  is  a  commonplace  of  history,  that  when  great  moral 
issues  of  the  more  obvious  kind,  like  slavery,  convulse  a 
people,  the  things  that  really  make  for  stability,  that  un- 
derlie social  progress  and  exemplify  the  more  vital  and 
enduring  virtues,  are  easily  lost  sight  of;  while  the  dem- 
agogue, under  a  cloak  of  patriotism  and  cheap  sentiment, 
serves  his  own  corrupt  ends.  In  great  crises  the  public 
vision  becomes  clouded  to  everything  but  the  main  issue; 
and  when  this  disappears,  there  is  danger  of  a  lapse  into 
supine  indifference.  Thereafter,  for  the  public  well-being, 
a  very  different  reforming  spirit  must  be  called  into  action, 
and  altogether  different  standards  of  conduct  and  ideals 
brought  to  public  attention  —  and  that  is  now  the  business 


878  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

of  the  twentieth-century  reformer.  It  is  true  that  indif- 
ference and  the  flesh-pots  still  all  too  often  work  together 
to  debasing  ends.  But  that  there  is  progress  admits  of  no 
doubt.  The  sort  of  men  who  once  were  readily  accepted, 
regardless  of  their  moral  lapses,  may  no  longer  call  for 
support  in  the  open.  Not  only  have  the  drunkard  and  the 
debauchee  been  relegated  to  private  life,  but  the  public's 
scrutiny  becomes  more  and  more  intimate  and  exacting, 
calls  ever  more  for  positive  qualities  of  character  in  leader- 
ship ;  and  the  searchlight  penetrates  ever  deeper  to  discover 
the  things  that  are  most  vital  for  the  general  welfare.  That 
"public  office  is  a  public  trust"  was  practically  a  new  doc- 
trine when  first  uttered  by  the  Sage  of  Princeton.  Its 
serious  acceptance  as  a  political  gospel  is  of  very  recent 
date.  Precisely  as  in  religion  the  old  hard-and-fast 
standards  are  disappearing,  and  something  besides  fear 
of  eternal  punishment  is  to  become  a  motive  for  right 
conduct  in  the  sphere  of  social  morals,  so  the  new 
political  faith  calls  for  higher  ideals  and  for  a  more  dis- 
criminating use  of  the  franchise,  to  impersonal  ends.  In 
short,  a  new  spirit,  self -searching  in  all  its  terms,  is  agitat- 
ing the  surface  of  the  hitherto  stagnant  waters  with  in- 
creasing persistence. 

THE  PRESENT  AGE  MORE  DEMOCRATIC  THAN  THE  PAST 

I  have  permitted  myself  rather  a  wide  field  in  which  to 
bring  the  past  and  present  into  synthetic  relations,  first, 
that  as  an  interested  observer  I  might  give  testimony  bear- 
ing on  the  character  of  the  major  determining  forces  in 
our  national  life  during  the  past  half -century ;  and,  sec- 
ondly, that  thereby  a  door  might  be  opened  whereby  the 
light  shed  by  one  side  of  human  activity  might  help  the 


X 

c 

•s. 


H 


SI 

> 
5?: 


S 

PC 


O 
r: 
H 


"THE  GOOD  OLD  TIMES"  279 

reader  to  a  better  understanding  of  another;  that  is,  that 
of  the  individual  of  a  different  age  in  his  social  and  business 
relations. 

What  men  exemplify  in  one  sphere  of  life  they  are  apt 
to  express  in  their  activities  in  another.  If  democracy  in 
any  manner  stands  for  breadth  of  ideas,  for  enlarging  com- 
mon interests,  for  toleration,  for  deep  and  wide  sympathies 
and  helpful  hands,  then  the  present  is  a  far  more  demo- 
cratic age  than  the  one  in  which  our  fathers  lived  —  much 
in  appearance  to  the  contrary.  Under  the  present  race  for 
wealth,  and  the  craving  for  carnal  pleasures,  there  moves 
an  undercm-rent,  coming  ever  nearer  the  surface,  that  is 
vitally  informed  with  the  humanities,  and  sooner  or  later 
is  sure  to  rise  to  the  surface  and  wrest  the  leadership  from 
degenerate  hands  to  noblest  ends. 

The  "good  old  times"  of  half  a  century  ago,  because  of 
their  greater  simplicity  of  living,  are  on  that  account  often 
celebrated  as  representative  of  democratic  equality  and  an 
intimate  community  of  social  interests.  Yet  nothing  is 
intrinsically  farther  from  the  truth.  They  constituted,  in 
fact,  a  framework  of  sharply  accented  lines  traversing 
every  sphere  of  life  —  of  acute  angles  permitting  of  little 
social  "snuggling,"  so  to  speak,  except  in  most  limited 
folds.  To  be  received  on  a  familiar  footing  in  any  social 
circle,  not  only  had  you  to  be  approximately  of  the  same 
worldly  standing,  but  you  needed  also  to  be  of  the  same 
narrow  political  faith,  and  to  subscribe  to  the  same  par- 
ticular shade  of  religious  creed  as  the  other  members 
thereof.  That  this  was  in  the  nature  of  things,  when  every 
wire-drawn  distinction  was  magnified  into  a  fimdamental 
principle,  cannot  fail  to  be  recognized.  Hence  it  was  an 
era  of  captiousness,  of  finical  fault-finding,  of  fine-spun 


280  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

discriminations;  in  short,  an  exhibition  of  traits  that  are 
distinctly  frowned  upon  to-day,  as  savoring  of  un- 
charitableness. 

THE  DOLLAR   MOBE   WORSHIPPED   THEN   THAN   NOW 

If  it  be  true  that  men  were  not  so  mad  in  the  rush  for 
wealth  in  other  days,  it  can  in  nowise  be  said  that  the 
almighty  dollar  had  less  value  in  their  eyes.  On  the  con- 
trary, it  was  probably  because  there  were  fewer  dollars, 
and  these  harder  to  get,  that  the  coin  or  its  equivalent  was 
worshipped  in  a  manner  not  dreamed  of  to-day.  In  those 
days  the  dollar  was  only  too  often  valued  for  its  own  sake, 
and  so  was  hoarded,  making  the  genus  miser  a  very  com- 
mon phenomenon;  whereas  to-day  money  is  valued  chiefly 
for  what  it  will  buy  in  multiple  forms  of  luxury.  Indeed, 
the  older  generation  was  not  generous  even  to  itself; 
whereas  the  present  is  perhaps  in  that  respect  over- 
generous. 

While  it  is  by  no  means  an  invariable  rule  that  the 
world's  most  consistent  givers  are  inheritors  of  wealth,  it 
seems  nevertheless  to  be  essential  that  the  maker  of  a  for- 
tune feel  the  stimulus  of  culture  —  which  is  the  child  of 
hereditary  wealth  —  in  order  to  enter  to  any  considerable 
extent  into  the  joys  of  giving.  And  even  then  his  endow- 
ments are  apt  to  follow  a  narrow  line  of  benefactions  —  a 
line  held  to  a  fixed  direction  by  the  limitations  of  creed,  or 
one  that  is  determined  by  some  particular  personal  ex'peri- 
ence  in  the  giver's  career.  Above  all,  he  insists  that  his 
money  shall  produce  visible  and  if  possible  immediate  re- 
sults. Preventive  philanthropy,  which  in  any  wise  appli- 
cation of  means  would  come  first,  invariably  comes  last. 
It  is  a  stage  we  are  now  slowly  entering  upon. 


"THE  GOOD  OLD  TIMES"  281 

THE   HOLD-FAST   LANDOWNER 

The  conditions  under  which  the  first  Chicago  million- 
aires evolved  themselves  were  peculiar.  In  no  other 
American  centre  of  activities  was  the  struggle  quite  so 
intense  or  so  full  of  hazards,  because  of  the  city's  rapid 
growth  and  the  persistent  lure  of  schemes  of  development 
far  ahead  of  their  time  of  fruition.  Land,  not  manufac- 
tures, was  the  accepted  road  to  riches.  Therefore,  whatever 
was  undertaken  was  usually  with  an  eye  to  increasing  land 
values.  And  this  effect  is  to  be  noted :  that  the  possession 
of  land,  as  an  index  of  fortune,  seldom  goes  with  a  large 
philanthropy.  This  general  statement,  while  abundantly 
illustrated  by  the  history  of  Chicago,  is  based  upon  a  far 
wider  induction.  Let  one  study  conditions  in  New  York, 
pass  from  thence  to  England,  to  Germany,  to  France,  and 
everywhere  it  is  the  same.  The  man  whose  wealth  lies 
in  land  has  no  money  to  spare  for  anything  —  except  it  be 
more  land. 

In  Chicago  there  were,  however,  other  causes  that  led 
the  possessors  of  land  to  keep  in  close  touch  with  it.  In- 
deed, so  recurrent  were  the  ups  and  downs  resulting  from 
insensate  speculation,  undigested  improvement  schemes, 
and  "wild-cat"  currency  expedients,  that  it  was  only  the 
very  prudent,  with  a  dash  of  "nearness,"  who  by  their 
qualities  were  fitted  to  weather  the  economic  gales  that 
periodically  swept  the  Western  prairies.  And  even  during 
the  war  period,  when  the  very  life  of  the  nation  was  at 
stake,  it  was  conspicuously  the  merchant  class  (though  by 
no  means  constituting  at  that  time  a  preponderance  of  the 
solid  men  of  the  conmiunity)  who  contributed  most  liber- 
ally of  their  substance  to  further  the  cause  of  the  Union. 
Happily,  the  descendants  of  the  old  "hold-fasts"  have  in 


282  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

numerous  instances  become  leaders  in  many  enterprises 
and  benefactions  for  the  people's  uplift.  Such  is  the  re- 
active law  of  progress. 

THE  TRUST  A  BETTER  TASKMASTER  THAN  THE  INDIVmUAL 

EMPLOYER 

While  the  landowner  might  lead  in  the  game  of  keeps, 
the  "easy  mark"  was  by  no  means  coromon  in  any  line. 
The  successful  employer,  self-made,  was  pretty  sure  to  be 
a  severe  taskmaster.  Though  he  might  present  a  demo- 
cratic shirt-sleeve  appearance,  he  nevertheless  drew  sharp 
distinctions  in  his  intercourse  with  his  employees ;  and,  as  a 
rule,  was  as  hard  as  nails  in  his  exactions  of  service.  He 
was  generally  first  at  the  day's  task;  and  to  him,  wrapt 
as  he  was  in  the  details  of  his  business,  long  hours  brought 
no  tedium;  while  the  pace  he  set  was  expected  to  be  fol- 
lowed by  all  under  his  lynx-eyed  surveillance.  Ask  any 
elderly  Chicagoan  who  had  his  way  to  make  in  the  world, 
what  manner  of  employer  he  had  in  his  youth ;  and,  in  eight 
instances  out  of  ten,  his  reply  will  be  to  the  above  effect. 
The  grinding  trust  may  rob  the  consumer ;  but,  as  a  task- 
master, it  is  much  to  be  preferred  to  the  regime  of  strenu- 
ous, competitive  individualism. 

It  may  be  more  difficult  for  ordinary  folk  to  come  in 
contact  with  the  rich  to-day  than  formerly.  In  a  certain 
sense  there  is  undoubtedly  a  more  exclusive  spirit  in  evi- 
dence. But  when  the  inferior  does  come  into  close  relation 
with  a  superior  nowadays  —  especially  with  the  class  who 
have  inherited  wealth  —  he  usually  encounters  a  far  kind- 
lier manner,  and  receives  more  courteous  consideration, 
than  his  kind  was  wont  to  enjoy  in  bygone  times.  In  those 
days  the  grasp  for  money  was  just  as  keen  as  now,  but  for 
lack  of  diversified  interests,  and  in  the  absence  of  cultural 


"THE  GOOD  OLD  TIMES"  283 

distinctions,  the  dollar  mark  alone  divided  the  master  from 
those  who  served  him. 

MEN  OF  THE  INDIVIDUALISTIC  ERA  APT  TO  BE  NARROW 

The  successful  man  of  a  generation  or  more  ago,  be- 
cause of  the  conditions  under  which  he  worked  and  sought 
to  prosper  —  the  individualistic  era  —  was  apt  to  be  close 
and  narrow.  To-day  a  very  different  order  of  mind  suc- 
ceeds. Details  are  left  to  subordinates,  and  only  the  larger 
field  is  envisaged.  Hence  it  happens  that  the  masterful 
men  of  this  era  are  also  frequently  built  on  large  lines  in 
directions  other  than  those  of  business.  Their  expansions 
often  include  the  spheres  of  mind  and  heart,  and  sometimes 
even  encompass  all  humanity.  The  old  "liberality"  was 
often  an  outgrowth  of  the  narrowest  kind  of  sectarian 
spirit,  and  as  likely  as  not  was  nothing  more  than  a  bribe  to 
St.  Peter.  To-day,  the  liberal  mind  is  far  more  inclusive. 
Russell  Sage  was  in  quite  an  intimate  sense  a  product  of 
a  time  which  he  outlived  without  a  change  of  heart.  The 
great  masters  of  to-day  may  not  be  as  careful  of  the  rights 
of  others  as  we  in  this  critical  age  could  wish;  but  while 
they  are  in  no  sense  worse  in  that  respect  than  their  prede- 
cessors, they  are  often  magnificently  generous,  and  grudge 
neither  their  time  nor  their  substance  in  furthering  social 
betterments. 

As  contrasted  with  the  old,  the  present  age  is  notably 
impersonal.  In  those  other  days  the  ego  was  an  insistent 
factor  in  every  relation.  All  rivalries  took  the  form  of 
enmities.  In  the  newspaper  world  every  publication  was 
a  party  organ,  and  in  that  capacity  a  bludgeon  with  which 
to  belabor  one's  opponent,  "doubly-dyed  in  villainy,"  while 
he  who  dared  to  make  a  contest  for  leadership  in  the  politi- 
cal field  was  branded  a  "sneak,"  or  "poltroon,"  or  "assas- 
sin."   All  this  is  happily  in  the  past. 


284  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

THE  PUBLIC  SLOW  TO  MAKE  DUE  ALLOWANCE  WHEN 
DISASTERS  COME 

The  bark  that  ventures  on  the  open  sea  needs  both 
ballast  and  sail.  When  top-heavy,  and  a  blast  overtakes 
it,  some  of  the  sail  may  be  safely  stowed,  but  a  goodly  part 
will  probably  be  torn  to  tatters.  In  such  case  it  is  often 
a  question  of  ballast  whether  either  the  ship  or  any  part  of 
its  cargo  shall  be  saved.  When  all  is  fair  weather,  with 
favoring  winds,  it  is  the  bellying  sail  that  serves  the  adven- 
turer and  catches  the  fancy  of  the  onlooker.  Then  all  is 
praise  for  the  part  that  makes  for  speed.  However,  if  a 
single  mishap  overtakes  the  good  ship,  her  successful  voy- 
ages under  generous  canvas  are  forgotten,  and  all  the 
praise  now  is  for  the  inert  mass  in  the  hold  that  averted  a 
total  loss. 

Of  the  manner  of  citizens  who  served  the  community  as 
saving  ballast,  and  reaped  their  full  reward,  I  have  spoken. 
A  word  should,  however,  also  be  said  in  behalf  of  the  class 
who  stood  ever  for  progress  and  not  infrequently  sacrificed 
their  personal  good  for  public  ends.  Of  course,  there  are 
degrees  in  this  as  in  most  things.  The  chronic  visionary, 
to  whom  every  broken-down,  unballasted  wind-jammer 
represents  an  argosy  of  fortune,  leaves  only  ruin  in  his 
wake.  Of  such  Chicago  in  other  days  had  its  full  share; 
and  their  kind  supplied  the  wits  with  matter  for  manj'^  a 
good  story.  Experience  had  taught  this  sort  much  wisdom 
—  though  of  doubtful  market  value,  —  and  believing  that 
they  owed  something  to  the  public  to  balance  the  losses  in- 
curred by  their  reckless  ballooning,  they  were  ever  ready 
to  hand  out  their  garnered  reflections. 

One  of  these  improvement  aviators,  while  bent  on  rais- 
ing more  wind,  had  occasion  to  visit  another  city.  After  re- 
tiring for  the  night,  Mr.  H.  was  annoyed  by  some  one  per- 


"THE  GOOD  OLD  TIMES"  285 

sistently  walking  the  floor  overhead.  Our  friend  could  not 
fail  to  recognize  the  symptoms,  but  had  long  ago  dis- 
covered the  utter  uselessness  of  that  sort  of  exercise.  There- 
fore, when  he  could  bear  the  annoyance  no  longer,  he  arose, 
and  ascended  to  the  floor  above,  where  his  knock  was 
answered  by  an  individual,  wild-eyed  and  much  dishevelled. 

"What's  the  matter?"  queried  our  philosopher.  "Why 
do  you  keep  up  this  thunderation  racket,  so  that  a  body 
can't  sleep?" 

"Oh,  I  am  in  trouble,  trouble!  A  note  is  due  to-morrow 
for  a  large  amount,  and  I  have  n't  a  dollar  to  pay  it  with." 

"Is  that  all?"  was  the  reassuring  word.  "You  foolish 
man!  go  to  bed  and  to  sleep,  and  let  the  other  fellow  do 
the  walking." 

JAMES  H.  BOWEN,  A  TYPE  OF  THE  MAKERS  OF  CHICAGO 

While  there  are  degrees  of  danger  in  the  matter  of  sail- 
spread,  the  public  are  rarely  to  be  trusted  to  make  proper 
allowances  in  the  event  of  disaster:  and  all  failures  of  ex- 
pansion are  thrown  indiscriminately  into  the  scale  on  the 
side  of  discredit.  Such  a  proceeding  has  done  great  in- 
justice to  more  than  one  of  Chicago's  citizens  whose 
memory  ought  rather  to  be  held  in  high  honor,  and  in  no 
instance  more  notably  than  in  that  of  Colonel  James  H. 
Bowen.  Up  to  the  time  of  the  fire,  the  weight  of  few  men 
in  Chicago  was  greater  than  the  colonel's,  and  hardly 
another  had  his  overcoming  momentum.  In  all  public 
affairs,  for  many  years,  when  anything  for  any  reason 
refused  to  budge,  the  public  instinctively  turned  to  this 
incarnation  of  "go."  It  was  chiefly  through  the  energy  of 
the  colonel  that  the  house  of  Bowen  Brothers  grew  to  be 
one  of  the  largest  general  merchandising  concerns  in  the 
city.     Then,  when  the  war  broke  out,  men  of  his  stamp 


286  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

being  everywhere  in  demand,  he  became  a  member  of  Chi- 
cago's famous  "Union  Defence  Committee,"  which  or- 
ganized, equipped,  and  sent  to  the  front  many  regiments. 
He  was  commissioned  a  colonel  on  the  staff  of  the  gov- 
ernor to  give  special  effect  to  his  work,  and  was  indefati- 
gable in  providing  for  the  entertainment  of  troops  pass- 
ing through  the  city.  He  was  chairman  of  the  Republican 
State  Central  Committee,  and  in  that  capacity  was  in 
Wasliington,  and  spent  with  Lincoln,  at  the  White  House, 
a  portion  of  the  President's  last  day;  and  the  arrange- 
ments for  the  martyr's  funeral  in  Chicago  were  largely 
in  his  charge.  In  1867  he  was  United  States  Commis- 
sioner to  the  Paris  Universal  Exposition.  He  organ- 
ized the  Third  National  Bank  and  was  its  first  president; 
in  that  capacity  he  took  the  first  steps  towards  the  organ- 
ization of  the  Chicago  Clearing  House  Association.  When 
the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  was  completed,  an  event  of 
transcendent  importance  to  Chicago,  the  colonel  organized 
a  great  parade  to  commemorate  the  event;  and  the  first 
freight  train  over  the  long  route  brought  to  the  house  of 
Bowen  Brothers  a  carload  of  tea. 

HIS   EFFORT  TO  RECLAIM   THE   CALUMET   SWAMP 

In  time  the  colonel  retired  from  active  mercantile  pur- 
suits with  a  snug  fortune,  and  then  undertook  to  reclaim 
the  Calumet  Swamp,  and  transform  it  into  the  now  realized 
South  Chicago.  However,  through  the  two-fold  disaster 
of  the  fire,  and  the  panic  of  1873,  the  scheme  proved  some- 
what premature:  and  its  promoter  paid  the  cost  in  both 
loss  of  fortune  and  prestige.  But  Jim  Bowen  was  not  the 
sort  of  man  that  can  for  long  be  kept  down ;  and  he  was  in 
a  fair  way  to  retrieve  his  fortunes,  when,  in  1881,  he  lost 
his  life  in  a  railway  accident.    His  death  was  a  very  real 


JAMES    H.    BO  WEN 


JOHX    V.   FARWELL 


I 


"THE  GOOD  OLD  TIMES"  287 

loss  to  the  entire  community,  but  especially  to  South  Chi- 
cago and  Hyde  Park,  of  whose  board  of  trustees  he  was 
president.  Colonel  Bowen  was  one  of  Chicago's  really 
great  "promoters" — using  the  term  in  its  best  sense  — 
and  somewhere  down  on  the  now  teeming  Calumet,  whose 
future  he  foresaw  and  sought  to  hasten,  his  name  should  be 
perpetuated  by  some  enduring  memorial. 

RESULTS   OF   HIS   ENDEAVOR 

None  who  saw  the  colonel  on  the  occasion  of  the  open- 
ing of  the  first  great  manufacturing  establishment  at  South 
Chicago,  some  time  in  the  later  seventies,  can  ever  forget 
the  impressive  sweep  of  the  arm  with  which  he  moored  a 
whole  fleet  of  Cunarders  along  the  prospective  docks  of 
the  Calumet.  And  it  was  in  no  wise  his  fault  if  they  have 
so  far  failed  to  be  seen  by  eyes  other  than  those  of  the  mind, 
but  is  wholly  due  to  the  shallowness  of  the  water  in  the 
Canadian  canals,  and  one  or  two  other  places.  However, 
if  not  Cunarders,  ships  of  the  proportions  of  the  Cunarders 
of  those  days  now  dock  there  daily  in  numbers. 

And  this  reminds  me  that  the  colonel  was  not  the  only 
one  who  had  Cunarder  visions  about  that  time.  Indeed, 
the  whole  Board  of  Trade  had  one  of  its  periodical  attacks 
of  direct  grain  shipments  via  the  Canadian  canals  to 
Europe;  and  so  impressed  was  Mr.  Storey  by  the  much 
ado,  that  he  directed  the  writer  to  go  over  the  route  and 
report  on  the  feasibility  of  the  plan.  To-day  any  first- 
class  paper  would  send  an  engineer  on  such  an  errand; 
but  in  those  days  the  scientific  specialist  had  small  stand- 
ing, while  the  average  reporter  was  still  in  full  partnership 
with  omniscience.  Besides,  had  I  not  worked  my  way  from 
Saginaw  to  Chicago  before  the  mast  on  a  lumber  schooner  ? 
And  what  further  water  experiences  did  one  really  need 


S88  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

in  order  to  know  all  about  levels,  locks,  draughts,  and  other 
mere  engineering  technicalities? 

However,  to  forestall  the  chronic  caviller,  I  added  to 
my  own  stock  of  observations  what  the  Government  engi- 
neers at  Detroit  knew  about  the  shallows  in  those  parts; 
and  then  consulted  among  others  the  chief  engineer  of  the 
larger  Welland  Canal  then  in  process  of  building;  and  so 
fortified,  I  returned  to  report  to  the  chief,  before  preparing 
the  matter  for  print. 

When  the  situation  had  been  explained  to  Mr.  Storey, 
his  face  lit  up  with  grim  humor,  as  he  remarked,  "But 
this  is  not  what  the  Board  of  Trade  people  are  look- 
ing for." 

"I  am  sorry,"  was  my  reply,  "but  it  is  the  only  kind  of 
information  I  was  able  to  bring  back." 

Then,  after  a  moment's  pause,  he  said,  "Well,  give 
them  what  you  Ve  got." 


THE  SPOILS  OF  WAR 

A  Mighty  Charge  on  the  Offices  by  the  Returning  "Briga- 
diers''—  Both  Political  Parties  Bait  their  Tickets  with 
Them  —  Norman  T.  Cassette  Captures  the  Richest  Prize  as  a 
"Private" —  The  Distinguished  Few  who  Kept  Aloof  from  the 
Scramble — An  "Irish-Republican"  Bogey — How  it  was  Ma- 
terialized FOR  A  Stage  Show  —  What  it  Looked  like  behind 
the  Scenes. 

FOR  several  decades  following  the  Civil  War,  the 
political  machinery  and  administrative  life  of  Chi- 
cago were  affected  in  so  remarkable  a  degree  by  the 
aftermath  of  the  great  struggle,  that  the  phenomenon  is 
well  worth  recalling.  It  was  a  time  when  the  shibboleth, 
"To  the  victors  belong  the  spoils,"  took  upon  itself  a  mili- 
tary, as  well  as  a  political  meaning,  for  the  "victors,"  in 
these  instances,  not  content  with  having  sought 

"the  bubble  Reputation  even  in  the  cannon's  mouth," 

felt  strongly  moved  to  add  thereto  whatever  honors  —  with 
their  financial  prizes  duly  attached  —  might  be  "comman- 
deered" in  the  political  field;  and  no  matter  which  party 
carried  the  day,  the  soldier  was  invariably  on  top. 

While  only  a  moiety  of  the  number  that  went  forth 
from  Chicago  to  do  battle  for  their  country  rose  to  high 
distinction  or  command  —  though  many  a  one  did  his  duty 
in  a  manly  fashion,  and  perchance  missed  filling  a  niche 
in  the  Pantheon  of  Fame  only  for  lack  of  favorable  oppor- 
tunity —  titular  rewards  did  not  fail  to  make  up  in  quan- 
tity what  they  may  have  lacked  in  the  gross  in  quality; 

289 


290  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

for,  after  the  war,  brigadiers  —  in  full  panoply,  or  by 
brevet  —  were  as  plentiful  as  blackberries  in  a  bramble. 

A  few  of  Chicago's  returning  heroes  retired  quietly  to 
the  reserves  of  honorable  business,  and  thereby  gained  in 
public  esteem  what  they  may  have  renounced  in  the  way 
of  official  "pickings."  Any  assumption  of  material  loss 
on  that  account,  however,  goes  by  no  means  without  say- 
ing, as  nearly  all  who  eschewed  politics,  and  put  their 
energies  into  business  rather  than  button-holing,  advanced 
in  material  well-being  —  to  say  nothing  of  self-respect  — 
far  beyond  most  of  those  who  invested  their  military  capi- 
tal in  the  lottery  of  "spoils":  only,  perchance,  to  draw  a 
succession  of  blanks,  for  in  this  "tug  of  office"  there  was 
generally  a  brigadier  on  both  sides,  and,  in  these  circum- 
stances, one  was  bound  to  get  worsted. 

DISTINGUISHED   EXCEPTIONS 

Among  those,  in  the  distinguished  minority,  who  chose 
the  better  part,  there  come  most  readily  to  mind  the  names 
of  Generals  George  W.  Smith,  A.  C.  McClurg,  A.  C. 
Ducat,  and  Joseph  Stockton.  A  few  were  imperatively 
"called"  to  office  because  of  conspicuous  fitness  —  the 
best  examples  being  Generals  J.  D.  Webster,  Internal 
Revenue  Collector,  M.  R.  M.  Wallace,  County  Judge,  and 
I.  N.  Stiles,  City  Attorney;  but  as  to  most  of  those  who 
somehow  "got  there,"  or  in  the  scramble  "fell  outside  of 
the  breastworks,"  the  people's  "call"  was  heard  only  by 
the  inward  ear  of  the  respondent;  and  it  was  generally 
immitigated  cheek  and  push  that  landed  them  in  place. 

However,  let  it  not  be  understood  that  military  timber 
was  not  in  political  demand  at  this  period,  for  both  parties 
catered  assiduously  to  the  soldier  vote  —  to  say  nothing 
about  motives  prompted  by  patriotic  gratitude  —  and. 


TOE  SPOILS  OF  WAR  291 

while  not  a  few  of  those  who  struggled  for  place  were  ac- 
cepted under  protest  by  the  judicious,  all  classes  rejoiced 
to  honor  and  support  soldierly  merit  when  coupled  with 
any  sort  of  fitness  for  place;  and  if  opportunity  had  of- 
fered to  support  soldiers  of  the  class  who  again  and  again 
peremptorily  refused  to  permit  their  names  to  be  asso- 
ciated with  the  scramble,  their  election  would  have  been  a 
foregone  conclusion,  regardless  of  party  affiliation. 

Among  the  lean  and  hungry  "hustlers'"  who  found 
themselves  kept  from  the  public  crib  for  lack  of  military 
handles,  there  was  much  gnashing  of  teeth  over  the  situa- 
tion; and  while,  when  in  convention  assembled,  they  ac- 
claimed the  soldier's  title  to  office  in  burning  platform 
periods,  this  was  as  far  as  possible  offset  by  private  depre- 
ciation of  the  "military  craze"  which  so  persistently  kept 
them  out  in  the  cold.  This  attitude  finally  resulted  in 
a  tacit  defensive  combination,  with  such  visible  effect  at 
the  polls  that,  whereas  the  soldier  candidates  had  thereto- 
fore invariably  run  ahead  of  the  civilians  on  the  ticket, 
they  began  more  and  more  to  lag  behind,  until  some  aston- 
ishing defeats  convinced  the  "bosses"  that  the  "soldier 
racket,"  was  nearing  its  end  as  a  vote-getter. 

THOSE   WHO   WON   THE   PRIZES 

That  there  was  never  any  thought  given  to  the  element 
of  fitness,  is  well  illustrated  by  the  persistency  with  which 
soldier  succeeded  soldier  as  Postmaster,  an  office,  above  all 
others  in  our  civil  affairs,  calling  for  special  administrative 
ability  as  well  as  business  experience.  Yet  almost  from 
the  day  peace  was  declared,  for  twenty  years  and  more, 
both  Republican  and  Democratic  administrations  used  it 
as  a  place  with  which  to  pay  military-political  claims,  as 
the  following  roster  of  incumbents  clearly  shows:     Gen- 


«9«  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

eral  Thomas  O.  Osborne,  Colonel  R.  A.  Gilmore,  General 
Frank  T.  Sherman,  General  John  A.  McArthur,  Colonel 
F.  A.  Eastman,  and  General  John  M.  Corse. 

The  Pension  Agency  was  also,  for  a  long  period,  held 
successively  by  either  ex-soldiers  or  their  widows  or 
daughters.  Amongst  such  incumbents  who  recall  them- 
selves are  General  Charles  T.  Hotchkiss,  General  J.  B. 
Sweet,  Mrs.  (General)  J.  A.  Mulligan,  and  Miss  Ada 
Sweet,  daughter  of  General  Sweet. 

Others  that  come  to  mind  are :  General  John  L.  Bev- 
eridge,  Lieutenant-Governor  and  Sheriff;  General  O.  L. 
Mann,  Collector  of  Internal  Revenue  and  Sheriff;  Captain 
S.  F.  Hanchett,  Clerk  of  Probate  Court  and  Sheriff;  Cap- 
tain "Jack"  Stephens,  Clerk  of  Criminal  Court,  Coroner, 
etc.;  Colonel  George  R.  Davis,  County  Treasurer  and 
Congressman;  General  J.  D.  Webster,  Collector  of  In- 
ternal Revenue;  General  C.  T.  Hotchkiss,  City  Clerk, 
(after  his  retirement  from  the  Pension  Agency)  ;  General 
E.  S.  Solomon,  Clerk  of  the  District  Court  (for  which 
place,  on  a  second  nomination,  he  was  badly  defeated), 
and  later  Governor  of  Washington  Territory ;  Colonel  Au- 
gustus Jacobson,  Clerk  of  Superior  Court;  General  M. 
R.  M.  Wallace,  County  Judge;  General  Thomas  O.  Os- 
borne, Minister  to  a  South  American  Republic  on  retiring 
from  the  Postmastership ;  General  I.  N.  Stiles,  City  Attor- 
ney; Colonel  A.  N.  Waterman,  elected  to  a  judgeship; 
Major  Woodbury  M.  Taylor,  Clerk  of  the  Supreme 
Court;  Captain  E.  F.  C.  Klokke,  Clerk  of  the  County 
Court. 

PRIVATE   NORMAN   T.    CASSETTE 

A  special  paragraph  must  be  devoted  to  the  remarkable 
campaign  of  Norman  T.  Gassette  for  the  Circuit  Court 
clerkship,  then  regarded  as  about  the  best  thing  in  sight. 


THE  SPOILS  OF   WAR  293 

There  was  nothing  small  or  retiring  about  Norman.  He 
was  originally  a  clerk  in  the  Post  Office,  unless  my  mem- 
ory misleads  me.  At  first  his  aspirations  to  so  fat  a  place 
as  the  clerkship  of  the  Circuit  Court  were  treated  as  a 
joke,  and  the  newspapers  made  exceedingly  light  of  it. 
But  Norman,  by  making  a  special  point  of  the  fact  that 
theretofore  the  prizes  had  all  gone  to  the  military  swells, 
with  nothing  going  to  any  one  below  a  colonel  or  major, 
succeeded  in  making  himself  the  champion  of  the  "office 
rights"  of  the  common  soldier;  and,  to  everybody's  sur- 
prise, finally  succeeded  in  forcing  his  "claims"  on  the 
Republican  Party  Nominating  Convention.  It  was  un- 
derstood that  he  retired,  after  a  term  of  four  years,  with  a 
couple  of  hundred  thousand  dollars  in  his  pocket,  and 
thereafter  was  regarded  as  quite  a  personality.  Before 
this,  he  alone  had  taken  himself  seriously;  but  success 
brought  others  to  take  his  own  view  of  himself,  and  on 
his  death  he  was  readily  granted  a  place  amongst  the 
city's  departed  worthies. 

AKTHUE  DIXON's   "  IRISH    REPUBLICANS" 

The  only  successful  rival  to  these  embattled  heroes  in 
the  art  of  political  "hold-up,"  was  a  famous  cohort 
"in  buckram,"  known  to  local  fame  as  Arthur  Dixon's 
"  Irish  Republicans."  It  is  safe  to  say  that  the  memories  of 
few  living  Chicagoans  go  back  to  a  time  when  the  suave 
and  plausible  Arthur  did  not  represent  the  old  Second 
Ward  in  the  Common  Council.  With  a  genius  for  or- 
ganization, he  has  probably  had  few  superiors  as  a  strate- 
gist; and,  as  a  tactician,  in  the  realm  of  ward  politics, 
hardly  an  equal.  He  was  never  known  to  give  battle  ex- 
cept from  an  inside  position,  being  thus  enabled  to  deploy, 
manoeuvre,  and  mass  his  forces,  so  that  wherever  two  or 


294  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

three  were  foregathered  under  his  banner,  they  appeared 
(and  generally  figured  in  the  newspapers)  as  a  "crowd," 
while  a  score  was  never  "estimated"  other  than  in  terms 
of  hundreds  —  so  extraordinary  was  his  ability  to  give 
concreteness  to  abstractions,  and  to  multiply  spectres  ad 
infinitum. 

If  the  brigadiers  held  the  soldier  vote  as  a  menace  over 
hesitant  bosses  to  compel  recognition,  such  intimidation 
shrank  to  insignificance  when  compared  with  the  terrors 
inspired  by  a  threat  to  reinforce  the  enemy  with  Dixon's 
Pretorian  Guard.  "Irish  Republican,"  was,  indeed,  a 
term  to  conjure  with  in  those  days.  It  straightway  hypno- 
tized all  who  took  the  smallest  stock  in  its  existence,  and 
compelled  them  nolens  volens  to  do  the  bidding  of  a  coterie 
of  adroit  spell-binders.  It  was  a  "spook"  that  made  a 
prodigious  amount  of  noise  in  the  dark,  and  had  the  wit 
not  to  materialize  under  a  flashlight  for  a  count  of  heads. 
There  were  hardly  enough  in  propria  persona  to  fill 
the  stage  for  a  single  show-up ;  but  by  means  of  lightning 
changes,  and  swift  doublings,  and  counter-marchings,  the 
display  gave  to  all,  except  the  initiated  behind  the  scenes, 
the  impression  of  unnumbered  hosts. 

REMARKABLE   RESEMBLANCES 

In  time,  of  course,  the  newspaper  boys  got  "on  to  the 
racket."  Indeed,  they  could  not  well  avoid  doing  so,  for, 
no  matter  in  what  part  of  the  city  an  Irish  Republican 
"rally"  was  held,  there  were  invariably  present  not  only 
the  self -same  orators,  but  the  dozen  or  two,  who,  at  high 
tide,  constituted  the  audience.  In  time  these  came  to  have 
an  amazingly  familiar  aspect  to  the  scribes  assigned  to  re- 
port the  proceedings;  and  they  were  forced  to  the 
conclusion  that  either  all  Irishmen,  like  coons,  "look  alike," 


THE  SPOILS  OF  WAR  «95 

or  that  they  had  seen  these  particular  sons  of  Erin  many 
times  and  oft,  at  other  "rallies,"  to  say  nothing  of  their 
suspicious  likeness  to  a  bunch  of  teamsters  in  the  employ 
of  a  certain  alderman.  But,  inasmuch  as  several  of  the 
beneficiaries  of  this  great  illusion  act  were  either  of  the 
reportorial  fraternity,  or  hung  more  or  less  on  the  verge 
of  it  —  and  so,  on  occasion,  described  these  "rallies"  as 
only  an  inspired  Hibernian  with  a  free  hand  is  capable 
of  doing  —  it  was  allowed  to  pass  as  a  political  pleasantry, 
differing  from  most  campaign  devices  only  in  the  superior 
manner  in  which  it  was  "staged." 

In  one  respect,  however,  there  was  a  striking  difference 
between  the  two  "manifestations"  I  have  been  considering; 
for,  whereas  there  were  never  enough  offices  to  go  around 
to  satisfy  the  hungry  brigadiers,  it  happened  more  than 
once  that  there  were  not  enough  eligible  Irish  Republicans 
to  fill  the  offices  tacitly  conceded  to  them  on  their 
"claimed"  voting  percentage  —  and  it  was  sometimes 
necessary  to  enlarge  the  inner  circle  with  Scotch-Irish,  or 
other  mixed  stop-gaps,  to  save  appearances. 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POPULARITY 

Prologue  —  The  Casandras  Unheeded  —  Idols  of  the  People  — 
Enter,  William  F.  Coolbaugh,  Banker  and  Statesman  —  Ge- 
nial Man  of  Affairs  —  Underrates  Chicago's  Financial 
Strength  and  Fails  —  Sympathy  of  the  Community  —  The 
Primacy  Passes  to  his  Rival  —  Tragic  Death  at  Foot  op 
Douglas's  Monument  —  David  A.  Gage,  Hotel-keeper  par 
excellence  —  His  Farm  on  the  Desplaines — He  Uses  the 
City's  Money^ — He  Goes  to  Denver. 

HISTORY  is  replete  with  the  tragedy  of  popularity. 
Seldom,  however,  do  the  annals  of  a  community 
show  so  many  and  varied  instances  as  those  of 
nascent  Chicago. 

PROLOGUE 

.  In  proof  of  this  let  me  cite,  among  many  examples, 
those  of  William  F.  Coolbaugh  and  David  A.  Gage.  The 
men  who  bore  these  names  were  contemporaries ;  and  while 
differently  environed,  and  influenced  by  diverse  predis- 
positions and  ambitions,  it  may  be  said  that,  at  their 
zenith,  and  in  their  respective  spheres  —  though  each 
touched  in  a  manner  the  entire  community  —  they  stood 
unrivalled  in  popularity. 

It  was  not  without  reason  (and  events  have  amply 
justified  their  course)  that  tried  and  true  victors  over 
many  an  imperious  urging  to  beneficence  —  men  adhering 
strictly  to  Jay  Gould's  trinity  of  "honesty,  frugality,  and 
economy"  as  stepping-stones  to  permanent  success  — 
shook  their  wise  heads,  and  sounded  frequent  warnings 
against  the  snares  of  popularity.    They  clearly  discerned 

296 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POPULARITY  297 

its  dangers,  and  with  heroic  self-abnegation  and  efface- 
ment,  would  have  none  of  it.  Hence  they  died  unscathed 
by  misfortune,  and  full  of  shekels.  But  the  Coolbaughs 
and  Gages  would  not  heed  these  Casandras  —  whose  nay 
was  far  more  familiar  to  the  community  than  their  yea 
—  and  listened  instead  to  seductive  sirens  luring  to 
destruction. 

While  different  in  many  ways,  these  men  had  yet  much 
in  common.  Each  was  genial,  urbane,  obliging  to  a  fault, 
and  a  prince  in  a  variety  of  good-fellowships.  While  the 
causes  of  their  downfall  were  superficially  unlike,  at  bot- 
tom they  were  the  same,  —  inherent  weaknesses.  Each 
had  unquestioned  parts  making  for  success  —  and  a  large, 
if  relatively  ephemeral  success,  was  each  one's  portion. 
They  sailed  life's  stream  at  flood-tide  buoyantly,  and 
caught  success  as  they  sailed;  but  neither  possessed  the 
fibre,  hardened  by  discipline,  to  pilot  their  barks  through 
perilous  rapids,  or  to  escape  the  merciless  undertow  of 
unreckoned  tides. 

WILLIAM  F.   COOLBAUGH,  BANKER  AND  STATESMAN 

William  Findlay  Coolbaugh's  rise  and  success  was  for 
a  time  phenomenal.  He  came  to  Chicago  from  Burling- 
ton, Iowa,  with  some  reputation  as  a  banker,  and,  though 
still  in  the  thirties,  so  conspicuous  was  he  in  politics,  that 
he  received  the  Democratic  vote  for  Senator  in  the  Iowa 
Legislature.  Within  a  few  years  of  his  arrival  in  Chi- 
cago, he  became  president  of  the  city's  then  leading  bank, 
the  Union  National ;  was  elected  the  first  president  of  the 
Clearing  House  Association;  held  the  presidency  of  the 
National  Bankers'  Association  of  the  West  and  North- 
west; in  1869  was  a  member  of  the  Illinois  Constitutional 
Convention ;  once  again  received  the  votes  of  his  party  — 


298  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

this  time  in  the  Illinois  Legislature  —  for  United  States 
Senator;  was  an  orator  of  exceptional  eloquence;  and,  al- 
together, was  alike  the  most  influential  as  well  as  the 
most  quoted  man  in  the  community.  Whatever  the  sub- 
ject or  the  occasion,  whenever  a  reporter  for  any  local 
paper  started  on  a  round  of  interviewing  among  citizens 
of  light  and  leading,  the  name  of  Coolbaugh  was  invaria- 
bly first  on  the  list. 

GENIAL    MAN    OF   AFFAIRS 

Mr.  Coolbaugh  was  an  exceptionally  well  informed 
man.  Never  ostentatiously  seeking  it,  he  yet  enjoyed  to 
the  full  a  well-earned  popularity,  and  on  occasion  of  re- 
portorial  intrusions  made  his  questioner  feel  agreeably  at 
home.  For  one,  this  writer  harks  back  with  unalloyed 
pleasure  to  the  frequent  half -hours  spent  tete-a-tete  with 
this  genial,  broad-minded  personality  in  an  exchange  of 
mental  currency;  for  it  was  Mr.  Coolbaugh's  way,  when 
his  professional  questioner  had  finished,  to  turn  interlocu- 
tor himself,  as  to  matters  with  which  his  visitor  was  pre- 
sumably conversant,  and  always  with  directness  to  the  root 
of  the  matter.  He  had  a  characteristic  of  most  men  of 
large  affairs,  that  of  never  seeming  in  a  hurry.  Complete- 
ly master  of  himself,  his  presence  was  pervasive  rather  than 
dominant,  persuasive  rather  than  commanding.  He  read- 
ily got  at  the  hearts  of  men,  was  much  admired,  much 
trusted,  a  leader  by  common  acclaim  —  and  when,  by  a 
single  mis  judgment  in  a  great  crisis,  his  sceptre  fell  into 
the  hands  of  men  more  self-centred,  keen  to  accept  the  op- 
portunity to  wrest  the  leadership  from  his  faltering  hands, 
the  denouement  came  as  an  unwelcome  surprise  to  the 
community. 


WILLIAM    F.  COOLBAUGH 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POPULARITY  «99 

UNDERRATES    CHICAGO'S   FINANCIAL   STRENGTH    AND    FAILS 

Yes,  the  trusted  leader  had  gravely  misjudged  the 
possibilities  of  the  situation  —  had  underrated  Chicago's 
independent  reserves  of  financial  strength.  Affairs  were 
in  desperate  straits.  Well  might  men  ask,  How  can  Chi- 
cago stand  when  New  York  gives  away?  A  few  with 
strong  wills  and  cool  judgment,  determined  to  make  the 
trial.  Coolbaugh  was  not  of  these.  He  believed  Chicago 
could  not  repel  the  onslaught  alone,  and  not  only  said  so, 
but  placed  his  bank  in  what  proved  to  be  an  indefensible 
attitude;  and  by  that  act  abdicated  the  primacy  that  had 
for  so  long  been  his  unchallenged  distinction  —  for  a  few 
days  of  suspense  settled  the  question  against  his  position. 

A  wide  and  whole-hearted  sympathy  went  out  to  the 
man.  Friends  from  far  and  near  rallied  around  him  — 
sought  to  convince  him  that  nothing  really  serious  had 
happened  —  that  he  would  soon  recover  his  prestige.  But 
the  wounded  chief  knew  better  —  felt  in  his  heart  that 
the  blow  was  mortal.  Outwardly  he  gave  no  sign  of  the 
bleeding  within.  The  world  was  met  with  a  calm  front  — 
a  savoir  faire  that  to  the  initiated  was  most  pathetic.  But 
in  time  the  strong  frame  showed  the  wear  of  a  ceaseless 
gnawing  at  the  vitals,  and  he  was  reluctantly  persuaded 
to  take  a  protracted  vacation. 

After  an  absence  of  several  months  in  Europe,  on  his 
return  he  seemed  to  be  really  much  improved;  and  the 
belief  became  general  that  he  would  again  enter  the  lists 
for  leadership.  But  it  was  not  to  be.  Already  the  First 
National,  under  the  guiding  hand  of  Lyman  J.  Gage,  had 
forged  ahead  of  the  Union  National,  both  in  the  matter 
of  deposits  and  influence,  and  he  felt  that  his  defeat  was 
irretrievable. 


300  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

TEAGIC   DEATH   AT   FOOT   OF   DOUGLAS's   MONUMENT 

Then  the  question  arose,  Could  he  follow?  The  pride 
of  his  former  exaltation  spoke  an  emphatic  No.  He  had 
drunk  of  the  wine  of  success  too  deeply  —  and  all  that 
remained  in  the  cup  of  life  for  him  was  turned  to  bitter- 
ness. As  a  Democrat  he  had  in  younger  days  been  on  inti- 
mate terms  with,  and  an  ardent  supporter  of,  Stephen  A. 
Douglas.  No  doubt  he  now  saw  in  the  tragedy  of  this 
ambitious  leader  a  beckoning  vision  of  inevitable  fatality 
for  himself;  and  so,  on  the  night  of  November  14,  1877, 
in  his  fifty-sixth  year,  at  the  foot  of  the  monument  erected 
to  the  memory  of  the  "Little  Giant,"  the  broken-hearted 
financier  deliberately  laid  down  the  burden  of  his  event- 
ful hfe. 

DAVID   A.   GAGE 

David  A.  Gage  was  an  ideal  boniface — notably  for 
men  of  mark  or  with  long  purses.  When  this  sort  put  up 
with  him  they  felt  themselves  in  good  company,  the  honored 
guests  of  a  distinguished  host.  "Dave,"  as  he  was  famil- 
iarly known,  was  never  obtrusively  in  evidence.  The 
"How d'ye,"  or  "We  can  fix  you  all  right,"  he  left  to 
others.  Seldom  effusive,  never  too  familiar,  he  knew  in- 
fallibly when  to  make  his  welcome  most  effective,  with  rare 
bonhomie  and  a  telling  presence.  I  am  speaking  of  a 
time  when  he  was  at  the  height  of  his  career,  when 
he  was  mine  host  extraordinary  at  the  Sherman.  I 
say  "extraordinary,"  for  there  were  associated  with 
him  at  different  times  his  brother  George,  John  A.  Rice, 
C  C.  Waite,  Horace  Walters  —  all  of  whom  were  also 
mighty  hosts  in  themselves.  In  earlier  days,  when  the 
Gage  brothers  and  John  B.  Drake  were  joint  proprietors 
of  the  Tremont,  David  pulled  steadily  enough  in  working 
harness  with  the  rest,  and  a  wonderful  trio  they  made,  per- 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POPULARITY  801 

chance  unmatched  in  the  history  of  hostelries.  Indeed,  so 
obvious  was  the  emharras  of  talent,  that  the  Gages,  shortly 
after  its  completion,  took  charge  of  the  Sherman,  which 
was  then,  after  the  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York,  the  finest 
hotel  on  the  continent. 

HOTEL- KEEPER  PAR  EXCELLENCE 

Yes,  as  mine  host  extraordinary,  Dave  was  a  large  It. 
Not  only  was  he  the  hotel-keeper  par  eaccellencej  but  he 
figured  also  in  the  role  of  a  country  gentleman  —  was,  in- 
deed, the  only  specimen  of  that  ilk  in  the  Chicago  of  that 
period.  To  be  sure,  "Long  John"  owned  a  big  tract  only 
half  a  mile  below  Twenty-second  Street,  and  a  bigger  farm 
at  the  Summit.  Obviously  there  was  in  these  holdings, 
country  and  to  spare ;  but  by  no  stretch  could  the  imagina- 
tion metamorphose  the  proprietor  of  these  demesnes  into 
a  "gentleman,"  even  in  the  broad  Western  sense  in  which, 
as  a  mantle,  the  term  often  covers  a  multitude  of  short- 
comings in  manners. 

HIS   FARM   ON   THE   DESPLAINES 

Gage's  farm  on  the  Desplaines  was  quite  manorial, 
and  something  of  a  show  place.  It  was  always  an  esteemed 
favor  to  be  asked  as  a  guest  there  to  inspect  the  stables, 
view  the  prize  cattle,  and  partake  of  home-raised  spring 
chicken,  and  the  other  good  things  that  go  to  make  up  a 
well-ordered  board.  When  this  or  the  other  New  York 
railroad  magnate  came  to  town,  or  some  distinguished 
Senator  or  Governor  (Democrat,  of  course,  for  the  Tre- 
mont  had  a  mortgage  on  everything  labelled  Republican) 
they  could  not  well  get  away  until  they  had  driven  behind 
a  spanking  pair  to  the  farm;  and  its  intimate  hospitality 
was  something  widely  coveted. 


302  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

If  Dave  could  only  have  let  well  enough  alone.  If 
only  the  broad,  finely  wooded  acres  on  the  Desplaines 
had  remained  Dave  Gage's  farm  to  the  end  of  his  days, 
how  differently  would  the  history  of  its  whilom  owner  now 
be  written!  But  it  was  not  to  be.  Like  many  another,  he 
listened  to  the  voice  of  the  siren  whose  spell  works  disaster. 
Many  booms  were  on  immediately  after  the  fire,  and  the 
suburban  boom  outran  them  all. 

"Why  wait  for  the  slow  development  of  time?'*  spake 
the  tempters.  "A  suburb  to  order,  with  parks,  walks, 
drives,  a  club-house,  everything  exclusive,"  that  is  what  the 
speculative  visionaries  said  was  the  thing  for  Chicago. 
And  so  a  famous  Eastern  landscape-gardener  was  sent  for, 
and  Dave  Gage's  farm  became  the  fashionable  suburb  of 
Riverside. 

HE  USES   THE   CITy's   MONEY 

About  this  time  Chicago  wanted  a  city  treasurer  —  and 
it  wanted  a  gilt-edged  one  to  boot.  Who  so  available  as 
Dave  Gage?  To  be  sure,  the  treasuryship  was  something 
of  a  bore,  but  it  was  also  worth  fifty  thousand  dollars  or 
more  a  year  in  interest  pickings,  and  David  was  persuaded 
to  accept  the  responsibility.  Everybody  felt  it  an  honor  to 
vote  for  such  a  prince  of  good  fellows.  Clearly  it  was  a 
case  where  the  man  honored  the  office,  and  not  the  office  the 
man.  But  alas!  Riverside  proved  a  bottomless  pit. 
Whatever  was  put  in  disappeared,  only  taking  time  before 
exit  (like  another  Oliver  Twist)  to  call  for  more.  Of 
course,  it  was  "good";  every  dollar  put  in  was  "safe"; 
could  city  money  be  better  invested?  Therefore,  tempo- 
rary loans  from  the  city  could  harm  no  one  I  But  in  time 
another  election  was  on.  Gage  was  again  a  candidate,  but 
a-  People's  Party  tide  swept  him  out ;  and  then  there  was 
found  a  shortage  of  six  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars ! 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POPULAIIITY  80S 

HE  GOES   TO   DENVEE 

Well,  everybody  was  willing  and  anxious  to  let  Dave 
off  easy ;  the  city  bore  its  loss  uncomplainingly.  Bondsmen 
were  also  of  the  sort  nobody  wanted  to  hurt,  notably  J.  H. 
McVicker ;  and  Dave  was  for  a  time  lost  to  sight,  but  was 
finally  heard  of  in  Denver  at  his  old  business  of  hotel- 
keeping.  Thereafter  no  Chicagoan  returned  from  the 
mountains  but  his  first  remark  would  be,  "Saw  Dave 
Gage."  And  because  so  many  liked  to  see  him,  it  is 
probable  he  recouped  a  bit ;  but  the  glamour  of  a  life  once 
so  full  of  all  that  heart  could  desire  was  forever  gone.  Both 
Democrats,  alike  in  temperament,  Coolbaugh  and  Gage 
had  been  close  friends,  and  the  Fates  were  equally  un- 
kind to  them. 


A  COMEDY,  OF  CONTRASTS 

DwiGHT  L.  Moody,  Aggressive  Evangelist  —  His  Character  Mis- 
understood —  His  Personal  Appeals  Generally  Considered 
Offensive  —  Not  Taken  Seriously  in  Newspaper  Offices  — 
•  One  of  Moody's  Converts — Improvement  in  Manners  Re- 
sulting from  Travel  —  His  Work  in  the  Enlargement  of 
Christian  Fellowship  —  Robert  G.  Ingersoll,  Protagonist  of 
Infidelity  —  Call  to  Chicago  Changes  Current  of  Life  — 
Difficulty  in  Obtaining  a  Hall  —  Lectures  Published  by  the 
"Times"  —  A  Mistake  about  "The  Mistakes  of  Moses"  —  Mar- 
vellous Memory  of  Ingersoll  —  The  Curtain  Lowers. 

WHILE  it  may  be  said  of  all  great  centres  of  human 
activity  that  the  successes  of  its  personnel  are  due 
to  indigenous  forces,  this  can  be  affinned  of  Chi- 
cago in  a  superlative  degree.  In  the  city's  development 
up  to  a  population  of  half  a  million,  I  am  able  to  recall  few 
instances  of  men  drawn  to  it  who  had  elsewhere  made 
reputations  as  controllers  of  large  affairs.  On  the  other 
hand,  one  could  easily  multiply  examples  going  to  show 
that  the  great,  world-extending  Chicago  organisms  or  in- 
fluences have  been  built  up  from,  and  around,  some  form 
of  determining  primordial  cell.  In  this  connection  it  must 
suffice  to  bring  to  the  fore  a  single  crucial  example  in  the 
person  of  one  whom,  on  the  whole,  I  regard  as  Chicago's 
most  remarkable  product,  namely  Dwight  L.  Moody. 
And  had  Dowie  been  more  of  a  home-grown  product,  his 
end  might  well  have  been  different. 

DWIGHT   L.    MOODY   AN   AGGRESSIVE   EVANGELIST 

This  estimate  of  Mr.  Moody  as  an  achieving  personal' 
ity  is  in  no  wise  born  of  the  zeal  of  a  disciple.    It  arises 

304 


i 


A  COMEDY  OF  CONTRASTS  805 

wholly  from  a  dispassionate  balance  of  high  achieving 
qualities,  with  a  strong  predisposition  distinctly  opposed  to 
lifting  either  the  man  or  his  methods  into  favorable  prom- 
inence. To  speak  frankly :  At  the  outset  of  Mr.  Moody's 
career,  I  shared  to  the  full  the  distrust  of  the  community  in 
him  —  and  in  common  with  most  newspaper  men,  who  at 
that  time  came  frequently  in  contact  with  him,  this  distrust 
took  the  form  of  a  positive  disUke,  the  result  of  his  aggres- 
sive and  unheeding  manner.  It  is  only  the  plain  truth  to 
say  that,  to  all  except  a  very  few,  to  whom  it  was  given  to 
discern  depths  unimagined  by  others,  and  to  see  afar,  this 
evangelical  lion,  when  a  cub,  was  a  most  unwelcome  ap- 
parition; and  to  no  class  more  than  the  elect  in  pew  or 
pulpit. 

It  seemed  as  if  in  the  beginning  only  one  among  men 
of  note  believed  in  him ;  and  that  one  was  John  V.  Farwell, 
to  whom  all  in  any  manner  benefited  by  the  evangelist  owe 
a  debt  of  gratitude.  Not  but  that  this  son  of  thunder 
would  have  forged  ahead  independently,  for  the  matter 
was  surely  in  him.  Yet  it  was  Mr.  Farwell  who  in  the  face 
of  much  ridicule,  not  only  gave  him  the  support  of  his 
abundant  faith  and  influence,  but  helped  him  in  ways  more 
substantial,  and  so  made  the  chosen  way  easier. 

HIS  CHABACTER   MISUNDERSTOOD 

Mr.  Moody  was  in  early  years  distinctly  a  phenome- 
non apart.  We  knew  well  the  earnest,  impassioned  ex- 
horter,  of  the  Peter  Cartwright  type — a  very  Lincoln  in 
his  way  —  and  none  were  more  respected  than  the  men  of 
his  class:  home-spun  to  the  last  fibre;  genial  and  heart- 
winning  with  the  lowly;  yet  notable  for  a  certain  reticence 
and  gravity  toward  the  world.     But  "Brother"  Moody 


306  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

was  very  different  from  this  type ;  and  his  untempered  zeal 
so  allied  him  in  manner  to  a  class  of  instinctively  dis- 
credited self -advertisers,  that  while  he  remained  for  years 
an  offence  to  the  pulpit,  because  the  disturber  of  an  agree- 
able status  quo,  he  was  to  the  Philistine  only  a  somewhat 
ostentatious  self-seeker. 

That  this  estimate  of  Mr.  Moody's  character  was  es- 
sentially a  mistaken  one  calls  to-day  for  no  proof;  but  that 
it  was  in  a  way  warranted  by  early  excrescences  of  manner 
may  still  be  confidently  affirmed.  The  forces  that  moved 
upon  or  within  him,  had  ordained  that  he  should  proclaim 
himself  a  prophet  and  assume  the  prerogatives  of  the 
office  long  before  the  world  was  ready  to  invest  him  with 
the  mantle  of  his  calling. 

Aye,  what  a  hustler  he  was  in  early  days!  And  how 
brusquely  he  went  about  his  business  —  proclaimed  by  him- 
self as  the  Lord's  business!  Always  on  the  go,  except 
when  he  might  halt  a  stranger  anywhere,  to  interrogate  him 
on  the  state  of  his  soul;  and  even  while  his  amazed  or 
abashed  victim  was  gathering  his  wits  to  frame  an  answer 
suited  to  the  astonishing  occasion,  off  he  would  be  to  startle 
somebody  else  into  "fits  of  salvation." 

AN   UNWELCOME   INTRUDER 

If  I  permit  myself  to  speak  in  a  vein  of  seeming  ir- 
reverence in  tliis  characterization,  it  is  only  to  give  the 
reader  a  true  reflex  of  the  way  in  which  the  man  reacted  on 
his  worldly  environment;  and  this  can  best  be  done  in  the 
vernacular  of  the  market-place,  where,  like  another 
Socrates,  he  was  interrogatively  so  much  in  evidence.  The 
established  pulpit,  especially  in  its  higher  or  formal  ranges, 
contended  that  he  lowered  religion,  an  imputation  now 
common  against  Salvation  Army  methods ;  while  the  man 


REV.    DWIGHT    L.    MOODY 


A  COMEDY  OF  CONTRASTS  807 

about  town  judged  him  from  the  standpoint  of  ordinary 
social  intercourse,  and  resented  his  intrusions  in  terms  of 
his  own  unheeding  manner. 

That  in  his  beginnings  Mr.  Moody  did  more  harm  than 
good,  is  a  conclusion  that  can  hardly  be  questioned.  At 
most  he  could  influence  only  the  sort  who  in  later  years 
accepted  Dowie  as  an  apostle ;  while  he  supplied  the  scoff'er 
with  a  whole  arsenal  of  weapons  for  effective  use  against 
religion  in  general.  In  those  days  he  was  almost  a  daily 
caller  at  the  newspaper  offices,  for  something  was  ever  on 
foot  with  him  for  which  he  desired  publicity.  It  cannot 
be  said,  however,  that  he  was  always  a  welcome  apparition ; 
for  he  would  seldom  content  himself  with  stating  his  busi- 
ness (from  a  newspaper  point  of  view),  but  must  needs 
inquire  into  the  state  of  our  souls  —  to  him  ever  the  matter 
of  absorbing  importance,  and  to  which  all  else  was  merely 
a  means  to  an  end.  From  the  viewpoint  of  his  "call,"  this 
attitude  toward  us  was  undoubtedly  a  very  natural  one; 
for,  taken  in  the  lump,  we  were  probably  as  fit  subjects  for 
the  pious  solicitude  of  his  kind  as  the  city  had  to  show. 
But,  for  all  that,  few  mortals  relish  having  the  truth 
brashly  thrown  in  their  faces ;  nor  is  it  always  agreeable  to 
be  saved  willy-nilly.  So  the  upshot  was  that  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association,  of  which  he  in  time  became 
the  in-all  and  the  be-all,  received  rather  scant  attention 
sometimes ;  and  if,  because  of  a  press  of  news,  any  matter 
had  to  be  "killed,"  the  "Moody  grist"  was  sure  to  head  the 
sacrificial  list. 

NOT   TAKEN    SERIOUSLY   IN   NEWSPAPER  OFFICES 

The  evangehst's  appearance  in  the  city  department 
of  any  of  the  papers  was  invariably  a  signal  for  a  general 
"jolly."    The  sense  of  humor  was,  however,  so  conspicu- 


308  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

ously  absent  from  his  make-up  —  at  any  rate  in  those  days 
—  that  the  most  banal  saUies  left  him  wholly  unscathed ; 
and,  had  the  slang  now  so  common  been  then  in  vogue,  he 
might  truly  have  retorted,  "Never  touched  me." 

I  was  not  a  witness  of  the  following  incident.  It  was, 
however,  so  frequently  repeated  by  associates  who  claimed 
to  dramatize  it  from  personal  knowledge,  that  I  am  per- 
suaded something  of  the  kind  happened.  On  the  Moody 
side  it  is  certainly  wholly  true  to  character,  and  the  alleged 
retort  is  so  characteristic  of  the  feelings  frequently  aroused 
by  him,  that  whether  literally  true  or  not,  it  unmistakably 
reflects  the  spirit  of  the  worldly  surroundings  of  his 
earlier  days. 

On  an  occasion  when  some  shorthand  men  engaged  for 
a  special  service  were  busy  transcribing  their  notes  in  the 
local  room  of  the  Tribune j  then  domiciled  on  Clark  Street, 
there  was  an  unannounced  invasion,  with  the  startling  in- 
terrogation, "Is  Christ  among  you?"  It  is  needless  to  say 
that  the  onslaught  evoked  a  variety  of  emotions,  and  in  the 
case  of  a  middle-aged  Scotchman  named  Guest,  a  good 
deal  of  a  character  in  his  way,  one  kind  found  ready  ex- 
pression. Taking  the  stump  of  a  pipe  out  of  his  mouth, 
and  turning  partly  toward  the  intruder,  he  retorted  with 
a  richest  Carlylean  burr:  "Na,  Maister  Moody.  He  was 
here  a  bit  ago,  but  he  's  just  stepped  oot  to  see  a  friend 
round  the  corner.  He'll  be  sorry  to  miss  ye.  Will  ye 
wait?" 

Was  Mr.  Moody  taken  aback?  Not  in  the  least.  As 
if  nothing  had  happened :  "I  have  a  notice  for  a  meeting. 
Please  be  so  good  as  to  publish  it."  Then,  turning  to  him 
of  the  scandalous  retort:  "Christ  will  find  you  yet," 
and  he  was  off  and  away. 


A  COMEDY  OF  CONTRASTS  809 

ONE  OF  Moody's  converts 

That  this  bizarre  Moodyism  was,  however,  well  adapted 
to  overcome  some  natures  I  had  abundant  opportunity 
to  learn,  and  the  discovery  added  a  large  personal  griev- 
ance to  my  other  counts  in  those  days  against  the  evan- 
gelist. There  was  an  exceptionally  retiring  young  man 
among  my  fellow-sufferers  in  "Boarders'  Paradise,"  as 
Madison  Street,  west  of  La  Salle,  was  then  celestially 
known.  This  hitherto  harmless  youth  occupied  a  room 
next  to  mine;  and  as  the  partitions  seemed  to  have  been 
constructed  on  a  sounding-board  principle,  and  my  night 
vigils  made  a  late  morning  nap  very  essential  to  a  reason- 
able well-being,  I  frequently  congratulated  myself  on  my 
neighbor's  quiet  ways.  But  all  at  once  there  came  a  start- 
ling change.  Thereafter  from  six  o'clock  for  an  hour  or 
more,  and  just  when  a  body  was  entering  on  his  much- 
coveted  beauty  sleep,  there  broke  forth  a  most  vociferous 
—  and,  might  one  venture  to  say,  ungodly?  —  carnival  of 
mingled  prayer,  praise,  and  song,  punctuated  with  fre- 
quent exclamations  of  "God  bless  Brother  Moody."  Of 
course,  there  was  no  mistaking  what  had  happened.  The 
equation  between  this  convert's  vociferous  orisons  and  my 
own  vigorously  voiced  benedictions  may  never  be  satisfac- 
torily worked  out ;  but  when  he  got  to  adding  an  extra  ten 
minutes  to  his  petitions,  that  the  evil  of  his  neighbor's  ways 
might  be  borne  in  on  him,  the  latter  felt  compelled  to  desert 
his  Eden,  and  seek  a  less  sanctified  environment. 

IMPROVEMENT  IN  HIS  MANNERS  RESULTING  FROM  HIS 

TRAVELS 

Mr.  Moody  was  never  what  is  commonly  understood 
by  "magnetic";  nor  was  he  insinuating  or  persuasive. 


310  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

What  he  accomplished  was  by  an  extraordinary  directness, 
that  had  for  some  people  a  convicting,  searching  quality. 
When,  after  an  absence  of  several  years,  spent  in  rubbing 
up  against  the  big  world  in  which  he  had  come  to  be  so 
important  a  figure,  he  returned  to  Chicago  a  veritable  soul- 
conquering  hero,  and  a  huge  tabernacle  was  built  for  him 
to  accommodate  the  tens  of  thousands  so  eagerly  awaiting 
his  triumphal  advent,  one  readily  noted  a  marked  change 
in  his  manner.  To  added  powers  of  expression  were  now 
joined  a  poise  and  gravity  of  mien  that  gave  one  a  feel- 
ing of  large,  disciplined  reserves,  notably  absent  there- 
tofore; while  his  old  temperamental  bluntness  was 
tempered  by  an  agreeableness  of  manner  that  went  far  to 
disarm  the  antagonism  he  was  wont  to  arouse  in  worldly 
folk.  He  was  now  one  of  the  great  men  of  the  earth; 
and  the  amenities  that  frequently  accompany  a  sense  of 
power  were  in  his  case  (at  least  it  so  seemed  to  the  writer) 
extended  even  to  his  old  enemy,  Beelzebub.  Not  that 
the  great  evangelist  was  at  bottom  more  friendly  to 
the  arch-fiend  and  his  works,  but  that  he  spoke  of  him 
more  impersonally,  more  in  a  detached  or  remote  sort 
of  way,  as  if  he  had  become  convinced,  through  larger 
experience,  that  his  adversary's  activities  were  no  longer 
all  centred  in  Chicago,  but  had,  so  to  speak,  diffused 
themselves. 

HIS  WOEK  IN  THE  ENLARGEMENT  OF   CHRISTIAN 
FELLOWSHIP 

Had  Mr.  Moody  accomplished  no  great  individual 
good,  what  he  did  in  breaking  down  unessential  dif- 
ferences in  some  of  the  sects,  and  so  helping  to  bring 
on  the  day  of  a  larger  Christian  fellowship,  would 
alone  entitle  him  to  the  gratitude  of  all  who  are  working 


A  COMEDY  OF  CONTRASTS  811 

for  a  world-inclusive  brotherhood,  whose  motto  is  "Peace 
on  earth,  and  good  will  unto  men."  And  now,  when  people 
say  to  me,  as  two  nice  old  ladies  did  the  other  day,  that  in 
their  eyes  I  physically  resemble  the  great  exhorter  in  his 
later  years,  I  accept  the  intended  compliment  with  all  its 
well-meant  implications. 

The  world  has  seen  vast  changes  in  the  field  of  religion 
since  the  great  evangelist  was  a  power  in  it.  To-day  a  man 
of  his  outlook,  who  drew  most  of  his  reverberating  ammuni- 
tion from  the  Old  Testament  stores,  would  be  compelled 
to  address  himself  to  men  of  a  much  lower  intellectual  and 
social  status  than  was  possible  to  Mr.  Moody  forty  years 
ago.  Now  it  is  men  of  the  stamp  of  the  late  Phillips 
Brooks  who  must  take  the  leadership  to  bring  the  world 
into  a  better  way. 

ROBERT  G.    INGERSOLL,    PROTAGONIST  OF   INFIDELITY 

By  way  of  contrast  in  the  field  of  religion  occupied  by 
Mr.  JNIoody,  some  reminiscences  of  the  great  infidel, 
Robert  G.  Ingersoll,  come  naturally  to  mind.  Shortly 
after  the  fire,  General  I.  N.  Stiles,  City  Attorney,  asked 
me  to  help  persuade  Colonel  Ingersoll  to  come  up  from 
Peoria  and  dehver  a  lecture  under  the  auspices,  and  for  the 
benefit  of,  a  Free-Thinking  Society  of  which  he.  Stiles, 
was  the  president.  As  the  general  knew  me  to  be  at  that 
time  something  of  a  free  lance  in  matters  religious,  he  had 
reason  to  look  for  cooperation. 

"Will  you  publish  something  about  the  lecture  if  he 
comes?"  was  his  query. 

"I  have  no  doubt  the  Times  will  print  the  whole  of 
it,"  was  my  reply. 

"That  will  fetch  Bob,  I  am  sure,"  was  the  general's 
pleased  exclamation ;  and  fetch  him  it  did. 


312  BYGONE  DAYS  IN   CHICAGO 

CALL   TO   CHICAGO   CHANGES   CURRENT   OF  LIFE 

At  this  period  Ingersoll  had  little  more  than  a  local 
Peorian  reputation  as  an  infidel.  A  few  times,  on  Thomas 
Paine's  or  other  iconoclast's  birthday,  he  had  taken  him- 
self to  Fairbury,  Illinois  (where  by  chance  some  kindred 
spirits  were  settled),  to  deliver  an  address;  and  beyond 
this  had  sought  few  occasions  for  the  exploitation  of  his 
peculiar  views.  But  this  "call"  to  Chicago  changed 
the  current  of  his  life.  With  his  rare  talent  it  was  only 
natural  that  he  should  have  had  ambitions  in  political  di- 
rections, and  no  office  in  the  gift  of  the  people,  or  by  presi- 
dential appointment,  seemed  out  of  his  reach,  provided  he 
held  his  anti-religious  convictions  in  abeyance.  But  he 
decided  for  freedom  of  conscience,  then  and  there  burnt 
his  bridges,  and  I  am  sure  never  regretted  the  step. 

Halls  were  scarce  in  Chicago  so  soon  after  the  fire. 
Concerts,  lectures,  and  entertainments  of  that  sort  were 
generally  given  in  churches,  and  these  were  not  hospitable 
to  Ingersollism.  So  a  hall  on  West  Randolph  Street, 
near  Desplaines,  was  secured.  It  seated  about  500  peo- 
ple, and  here  the  colonel  launched  his  first  thunderbolt. 
It  was  in  many  respects  a  memorable  event ;  for,  if  to-day 
American  Presbyterians  subscribe  to  a  revised  creed,  and 
worship  a  kindlier  God,  Robert  G.  Ingersoll  in  no  small 
degree  contributed  to  that  happy  consummation. 

"the    mistakes    of    MOSES " 

Colonel  Ingersoll  forced  the  fighting  from  then  on,  and 
soon  the  largest  halls  could  furnish  standing  room  only. 
The  Times  not  only  published  the  first  lecture,  but  all 
others  deHvered  by  him  in  Chicago.  As  to  one  of  these 
something  happened.  It  was  about  1880  that  the  colonel 
made  the  startling  discovery  that  Moses  had  made  some 


ROBERT  G.   INGERSOLL 


A  COMEDY  OF  CONTRASTS  81S 

mistakes  (about  his  own  funeral  and  kindred  matters), 
and  he  was  eager  the  world  should  know  about  them. 
His  agent  had  engaged  the  largest  hall,  and  when  Inger- 
soU  came  to  town,  I  looked  him  up  as  usual,  to  secure  the 
manuscript.  The  reader  can  imagine  my  astonishment 
when  it  was  flatly  refused. 

"See  here,"  was  his  blunt  way  of  putting  it,  "I  am 
out  of  politics,  and,  for  the  time  being,  also  out  of  the 
law.  I  am  in  the  lecture  business  now,  and  expect  to  stay 
in  it  for  a  good  while,  for  I  imagine  that  these  mistakes 
of  my  friend  Moses  will  bear  telling  in  a  good  many 
places.  But  I  doubt  if  they  will,  if  it  all  comes  out  in  the 
Times:* 

I  not  only  tried  to  convince  him  that  he  was  mistaken 
as  to  the  effect  of  publicity,  but  intimated  that  inasmuch 
as  the  Times  had  been  largely  instrumental  in  making  a 
market  for  his  wares,  it  was,  in  equity,  entitled  to  reap 
some  of  the  reward,  if  any  accrued  from  publication.  In- 
gersoll,  however,  remained  obdurate,  and  while  we  parted 
friends,  each  was  a  bit  on  his  mettle. 

Of  course,  the  Times  was  not  to  be  beaten  in  so  simple 
a  matter;  and,  as  it  happened  that  my  old  friend  John 
Ritchie  knew  how  to  make  pothooks  (as  he  does  still), 
and  had  those  in  his  employ  who  could  do  likewise,  he  re- 
ceived a  commission  to  furnish  a  verbatim  report. 

INGERSOLL   CONFESSES  TO    A   MISTAKE  OF   HIS   OWN 

The  lecture  was  delivered  one  Sunday  afternoon  in  the 
Haverly  Opera  House,  before  more  than  3,000  people. 
That  night,  about  ten  o'clock,  who  should  come  puffing 
up  three  flights  of  stairs  (the  elevator  happened  to  be  out 
of  order)  but  Robert  G.,  and  bursting  into  the  room,  ex- 
claimed, "Well,  Cook,  I  guess  you've  got  me!    And  so 


314  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

long  as  the  durned  thing  is  going  to  be  printed,  I  want 
Moses  to  go  in  straight.  So,  with  your  permission,  I 
should  like  to  look  over  the  proofs." 

"All  right.  Colonel,  I'll  get  them  for  you;  though  I 
imagine  you  '11  find  the  matter  pretty  straight,  as  I  have 
taken  special  pains  in  reading  the  copy.  We  are  probably 
as  concerned  to  have  it  correct  as  you  are,  for  Moses'  mis- 
takes are  quite  enough  for  one  issue  without  adding  any 
of  our  own."  He  laughed  heartily,  and  remarked  that  he 
had  been  thinking  matters  over,  and  was  now  glad  he  was 
beaten.  He  tarried  into  the  small  hours,  and,  on  leaving, 
turned  with  the  remark,  "  I  guess  you  had  better  send  the 
shorthand  bill  to  me." 

MARVELLOUS   MEMORY   OF   INGERSOLL 

To  a  talent  bordering  on  genius,  there  was  joined  in 
IngersoU  a  marvellous  memory.  On  the  afternoon  before 
his  first  lecture  in  Chicago,  I  called  at  the  hotel  for  the 
manuscript,  and  spent  several  hours  in  interesting  con- 
versation— and  a  more  entertaining  talker  I  have  never 
known. 

Suddenly  he  jumped  up.  Some  casual  remark  had 
set  in  motion  a  train  of  thought.  "Give  me  that  manu- 
script," he  exclaimed ;  and  taking  a  seat  at  a  table,  he  rap- 
idly composed  three  or  four  pages.  When  finished,  he  read 
them  to  me,  and  handed  back  the  manuscript,  including 
the  addition.  "You  '11  want  this  to  memorize,"  I  re- 
marked. "It 's  here,"  was  his  rejoinder,  tapping  his  head. 
In  the  evening  I  kept  tab  on  him  with  the  manuscript 
before  me,  and  found  him  dead  letter  perfect. 

THE   CURTAIN   LOWERS 

The  last  time  I  saw  IngersoU  was  only  a  few  weeks 
before  his  death,  and  he  was  then  in  a  royal  humor.    On 


A  COMEDY  OP  CONTRASTS  815 

parting  he  remarked,  "Has  n*t  the  religious  world  changed 
since  we  [How  generous  of  him  I]  started  out  to  shake  it 
up?  I  feel  that  my  work  is  done.  Why,  there  are  now 
lots  of  Presbyterian  parsons  who  say  things  about  parts 
of  the  Bible  and  their  old  creed  that  actually  make  me 
feel  beliind  the  times,  and  I  reckon  I  am."  Then,  with  a 
chuckle,  "Well,  it's  too  late  to  catch  up." 

He  grasped  my  hand,  we  said  good-bye,  and  I  was  to 
see  that  big-hearted,  royally-brained  friend  in  this  life  no 
more. 


THE  LINCOLN  FUNERAL 

One  of  the  Saddest  Days  in  Chicago's  History — The  Shadow  op 
Death  Hangs  over  the  City  —  Muffled  Drums  and  Tolling 
Bells  —  Patience  of  the  Waiting  Thousands  —  General 
Hooker  in  Advance  of  Cortege  —  Lincoln  Lying  in  State  — 
A  Double  Line  Formed  Many  Blocks  in  Length  —  An  Awe- 
inspiring  Scene  —  Women  Swoon  from  Emotion  and  Weari- 
ness —  Impressions  of  Those  who  Viewed  the  Remains  —  Still 
Passing  at  three  a.  m.  —  The  Writer's  Impressions  at  the 
Side  of  the  Casket  —  Again  in  Line  —  Appearance  of  the 
Beloved  Face. 

ONE  of  the  saddest  days  in  the  history  of  Chicago  was 
that  which  saw  the  body  of  Abraham  Lincoln  borne 
through  shrouded  streets,  lined  with  tear-stained 
faces  that  bespoke  the  heart-sorrow  of  a  bereaved  people. 
Even  the  heavens  were  in  accord  with  the  pervading  feel- 
ing, for  a  gloomier  sky  than  hung  low  over  the  mourning 
city  is  seldom  seen.  Verily,  the  hue  of  death  was  on  every- 
thing. 

There  was  not  a  home,  however  humble,  that  did  not 
display  some  emblem  significant  of  the  shadow  that  had 
fallen  on  the  nation's  hearthstone;  while  the  habitations 
that  faced  the  thoroughfares  marked  for  the  solemn 
cortege,  in  their  sombre  draperies  seemed  to  enwrap  the 
great  catafalque  in  its  slow,  halting  passage,  as  with  the 
symbolic  wings  of  Death. 

MUFFLED   DRUMS   AND   TOLLING   BELLS 

And  what  the  eye  could  not  perceive  of  this  universal 
manifestation  of  sorrow,  spoke  with  equal  impressiveness 

316 


THE   LINCOLN   tTFNERAL  81f 

to  the  ear  —  in  the  reverberating  monotone  of  countless 
toUing  bells,  each  clang  of  their  proclaiming  tongues 
falling  upon  quivering  hearts ;  in  the  roll  of  muffled  drums 
that  coursed  along  overwrought  nerves  in  throbs  of  pain; 
in  the  solemn  dirge,  now  subdued  to  sobbing  cadence  and 
anon  rising  to  heart-moving  lamentation. 

Hours  before  the  sad  procession  was  due,  people  by 
hundreds  of  thousands  —  they  had  come,  a  mighty  host, 
from  all  parts  of  the  Northwest  —  were  massed  along  the 
route,  especially  on  the  lake  front,  which,  from  Park  Row 
to  Washington  Street,  presented  such  an  assemblage  as 
few  occasions  bring  together.  And  this  mighty  multitude, 
though  laboring  under  an  excess  of  emotion,  and  wearied 
to  exhaustion  by  many  hours  of  waiting,  to  the  last  main- 
tained an  impressive  quietude. 

Ordinarily  the  lake  front  was  noisy  enough  with  its 
shrieking,  clanging  locomotives,  ever  on  the  move.  But 
for  once  the  many-tracked  trestle,  then  far  out  in  the 
lake,  was  as  still  as  the  dead  in  whose  honor  it  had  been 
silenced. 

General  Joseph  Hooker,  on  horseback,  made  an  im- 
pressive figure  at  the  head  of  the  great  cortege.  Though 
the  day  was  damp  and  threatening,  he  remained  uncov- 
ered over  the  entire  route. 

LINCOLN   LYING   IN   STATE 

When  at  last  the  remains  of  the  dead  President  lay 
in  state  —  that  his  bereaved  children  might  once  again 
and  for  the  last  time  look  upon  the  beloved  face  —  those 
in  charge  of  the  arrangements  found  themselves  confronted 
by  an  almost  superhuman  task. 

The  casket  rested  on  a  low  catafalque,  in  the  centre  of 
the  Court  House  rotunda.     When  the  eager,  surging 


318  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

multitude  that  literally  packed  all  the  streets  about  had 
been  brought  into  something  like  order,  a  double  line 
which  was  admitted  to  the  enclosed  square  by  the  southern 
gate,  ascended  the  high  flight  of  stepsiby  which  the  rotunda 
was  reached,  and  passed  rapidly,  one  to  the  right,  the 
other  to  the  left,  of  the  casket. 

AN   AWE-INSPIRING   SCENE 

The  interior  of  the  rotunda,  in  its  sombre  draperies, 
was  an  awe-inspiring  sight.  Dimly  lighted  by  a  cande- 
labrum at  the  head  of  the  casket,  it  made  one  feel  that 
death  was  not  a  mere  negation  of  life,  but  a  ghostly,  per- 
vading, overpowering  presence. 

Of  women  not  a  few,  who  perhaps  had  stood  for  hours 
to  witness  the  passage  of  the  catafalque  with  its  august 
burden,  and  who  thereafter  had  stood  other  exhausting 
hours  in  line,  on  finding  themselves  suddenly  in  the  midst 
of  these  oppressive  insignia  of  mortahty  were  doomed  to 
miss  the  opportunity  so  arduously  sought  to  look  upon 
the  face  of  the  beloved  dead,  by  giving  way  under  an 
excess  of  emotion,  or  even  dropping  unconscious  to  the 
floor  of  the  rotunda  —  thereupon  to  be  hastily  removed 
by  members  of  the  military  escort  everywhere  at  attention. 

This  was  in  all  its  arrangements  a  military  funeral: 
for  he  who  was  dead  had  been  the  commander-in-chief 
of  two  millions  of  armed  men. 

EXPERIENCES  AND  IMPRESSIONS 

Of  those  who  succeeded  in  passing  the  trying  ordeal, 
only  a  few  brought  away  any  distinct  impressions.  In- 
deed, only  one  here  and  there  had  the  presence  and  alert- 
ness to  focus  his  attention  so  as  to  catch  more  than  the 
merest  glimpse  of  the  face  in  the  depths  of  the  casket  — 


> 

> 

r 

o 
►13 


w 
o 


S 

o 
> 

O 

o 


THE  LINCOLN  FUNERAL  819 

for  not  a  moment  beyond  the  instantaneous  glance  to  fix 
the  image  was  permitted  —  and  so  what  the  majority 
carried  away  was  at  best  only  a  jmnbled  composite  of  an 
awesome  spectacle. 

Newspaper  work  prevented  me  from  faUing  into  line 
until  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  even  at  that  un- 
usual hour  so  extended  was  the  line  that  I  was  nearly 
an  hour  and  a  half  in  reaching  the  bier.  Once  within 
the  rotunda,  at  every  step  was  heard  the  whispered  "Move 
on!"  from  a  guard  at  one's  elbow;  and  before  one  had  time 
to  take  bearings,  he  found  himself  beside  the  casket. 

So  dim  was  the  light,  and  so  indistinct  all  objects  in 
the  strange  surroundings,  that  I  was  quite  even  with  the 
face  before  my  eyes  were  fully  fixed  upon  it,  and  there  was 
time  only  for  a  vague  impression.  This  was  naturally  a 
most  unsatisfactory  experience. 

I  therefore  quickly  fell  once  more  into  line,  this  time 
at  the  corner  of  Madison  and  La  Salle  Streets,  whereas 
before  I  had  begun  two  blocks  farther  east  on  Madison. 
While  the  double  file  moved  at  a  slow  but  fairly  even  pace 
(first  west  on  Madison,  then  north  on  La  Salle  Street, 
then  east  on  Randolph,  then  south  on  Clark,  then  west 
on  Washington,  and  thence  once  more  through  the  square, 
up  the  steps,  and  into  the  rotunda),  I  had  ample  time  to 
pass  my  previous  experience  in  review,  and  arrange  my 
faculties  for  most  effective  sers^ice. 

APPEARANCE  OF  THE  BELOVED  FACE 

The  momentary  glance  I  had  been  able  to  give  the 
face  left  the  impression  that  it  was  exceedingly  small,  and 
I  was  interested  to  note  if,  under  possibly  more  favorable 
conditions,  this  impression  would  be  confirmed.  My  second 
view,  considering  the  circumstances,  was  quite  satisfactory. 


320  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

There  had  been  some  abatement  of  pressure,  and  I  knew 
just  when  and  where  to  look.  Also,  there  occurred  a 
momentary  halt  just  when  I  stood  in  the  best  position  for 
observation.  In  these  circumstances  my  original  impres- 
sion was  confirmed,  the  face  appearing  much  smaller  than 
one  would  expect  from  the  unusual  length  of  body.  And 
upon  inquiry  I  found  that  others  had  come  away  with  a 
similar  impression. 


A  LINCOLN  SEANCE 

Prologue:  Charles  H.  Reed,  Prosecuting  Attorney — Spectacular 
Career — Disastrous  End  —  The  Great  Seance  —  Murderous 
Assault  upon  Youthful  Bride  —  Envious  Widow  under  Arrest 
—  Leonard  Swett  and  Isaac  N.  Arnold,  "Mejums"  —  True 
Inwardness  of  the  Seance  Divulged  —  A  Carefully  Chosen 
"Circle"  —  Preliminary  Political  Passes  —  Witnesses  Evoked 
FROM  Thin  Air  —  Mesmeric  Spell  of  the  Materializing 
Influences  —  Helplessness  of  the  Unhypnotic  Attorney  — 
Shade  of  the  Immortal  Lincoln  Invoked  —  Triumph  of  the 
Triumvirate. 

CHARLES  H.  REED,  for  years  prosecuting  attor- 
ney, sent  many  a  rogue  to  the  penitentiary;  and,  in 
the  end,  barely  escaped  going  behind  the  bars  him- 
self. Reed,  at  his  best,  was  a  creditable  prosecutor. 
On  occasion  he  would  buckle  to  and  do  a  big  stunt  of 
effective  work.  But  his  performances,  on  the  whole,  were 
provokingly  uneven,  and  dashed  with  a  good  deal  of 
gallery  play,  when  the  thunder  was  all  of  the  sheet-iron 
variety. 

SPECTACULAE   CAREER 

Charley  saw  his  best  days  in  the  late  sixties,  when  by 
a  series  of  spectacular  tours  de  force  he  achieved  a  large, 
if  somewhat  mixed,  popularity.  He  had  many  admirers, 
also  not  a  few  friends,  and  one  of  these,  shortly  before 
his  death,  named  him  executor  of  his  estate  and  guardian 
of  his  children.  This  led  to  Charley's  undoing.  He  was 
a  good-natured  fellow,  readily  beguiled  by  the  plausible 
into  unwarranted  speculations,  and,  by  his  intimates,  into 
hurtful    extravagances.     After    an   extended   career    as 

321 


322  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

prosecutor,  he  returned  to  general  practice  and,  in  time, 
aspired  to  a  judgeship,  for  which  temperamentally,  and 
for  other  reasons,  he  was  wholly  unfitted.  He  received 
the  nomination  of  a  boss-controlled  convention  (which  put 
up  about  the  worst  batch  of  candidates  ever  corralled  under 
the  whip  and  spur  of  unreasoning  dictation) ,  and  although 
duly  warned  not  to  force  himself  on  public  attention,  as 
matters  looked  queer  anent  his  guardianship,  he  insisted 
on  having  his  way,  got  fearfully  pounded  by  a  united 
press,  and  the  whole  ticket  suffered  ignominious  defeat. 

DISASTROUS   END 

Thus  discredited,  matters  went  from  bad  to  worse  with 
him  so  that  his  old  haunts  knew  him  no  more. 

In  1887,  I  met  him  at  the  Hoffman  House,  New 
York.  He  was  outwardly  cheery  and  hopeful,  for  he  had 
just  seen  Roscoe  Conkling,  and  the  ex-senator  had  prom- 
ised to  put  some  work  in  his  way.  But  the  memorable 
blizzard  of  that  winter  effectually  closed  this  problematical 
opening,  as  the  stalwart  ex-senator  succumbed  to  the 
effects  of  exposure.  Thereafter  I  saw  no  more  of  Charley, 
nor  heard  of  him,  imtil  the  papers  announced  that  he  had 
forced  a  change  of  venue  from  Taylor's  hotel,  Jersey  City, 
to  what,  let  us  hope,  is  a  more  hospitable  world  for  his 
kind. 

THE   GREAT   "  SEANCE " 

Charley  Reed  figured  in  too  many  cases  of  note  to 
permit  any  detailed  mention.  But  one  stands  out  so  con- 
spicuously by  reason  of  the  character  of  the  lawyers  for 
the  defence,  and  the  manner  of  their  association  with  the 
case,  that  it  seems  worth  while  to  rehearse  it :  and  this  the 
rather,  as  its  true  inwardness  as  a  unique  legal  episode  will 
be  now  a  first-told  tale. 


CHARLES    H.   REED,  PROSECUTING    ATTORNEY 

("Charley**  Reed  was  the  Unwilling  Victim  of  the  Arnold- 

Swett  "Lincoln  Seance,"  and  Later  of  His 

Own  too  Great  Popularity) 


A  LINCOLN   SEANCE  82S 

The  year  was  1868.  A  young  and  prepossessing 
schoolma'am,  a  recent  bride,  had  been  lured  to  the  woods 
back  of  the  old  Chicago  University  in  Cottage  Grove, 
and  there  murderously  assaulted  by  a  woman,  heavily 
veiled,  who  rushed  upon  her  from  a  thicket.  As  the 
victim  was  brought  nigh  to  death's  door,  the  affair 
created  a  great  stir,  and  for  days  absorbed  public  atten- 
tion. Almost  from  the  first  suspicion  pointed  to  a  middle- 
aged  widow  residing  in  the  southern  part  of  the  city;  and 
so  strongly  did  the  evidence  converge  upon  her  that  she 
was  placed  under  arrest  and  held  for  trial. 

The  widow  and  the  man  who  had  become  the  husband 
of  the  teacher  had  been  much  in  each  other's  company 
before  the  better-looking  and  younger  school-mistress 
crossed  his  orbit  —  and  the  theory  of  the  prosecution  was 
that  it  was  a  case  of  "a  woman  scorned,"  wherein,  instead 
of  venting  her  wrath  on  the  faithless  swain,  she  had  re- 
vengefully turned  on  her  successful  rival. 

LEONARD   SWETT  AND   ISAAC   N.    ARNOLD,    "mEJUMS" 

The  accused  widow  was  wealthy,  she  had  influential 
friends,  and  elaborate  plans  for  her  defence  were  carefully 
matured.  Some  one  among  her  advisers  had  surely  a 
happy  thought  —  nay,  an  inspiration.  Leonard  Swett, 
although  then  a  comparative  newcomer  in  Chicago,  had 
behind  him  a  reputation  won  elsewhere,  and  his  selection 
by  the  defence  was  therefore  not  so  very  remarkable. 
But  who  in  his  wildest  dreams  had  ever  associated  the 
Chesterfieldian  Hon.  Isaac  N.  Arnold  with  a  case  of  this 
character?  Besides,  had  he  not  been  out  of  harness  for  so 
many  years  that  only  the  very  oldest  settlers  could  be 
expected  to  remember  that  he  had  ever  been  a  practising 
lawyer?  People  rubbed  their  eyes ;  the  wits  had  their  jokes ; 


324  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICA<JO 

while  Emory  Storrs,  when  asked  for  an  opinion,  remarked 
that  there  was  no  occasion  for  wonder,  as  a  "Nancy" 
(a  familar  sobriquet  for  Mr.  Arnold)  was  often  asso- 
ciated with  women's  troubles. 

I  reported  the  trial  for  the  Tribune,  with  which  paper 
I  was  at  that  time  connected.  But  as  no  reportorial  in- 
ferences or  deductions  —  however  well  founded  —  were 
permitted,  only  a  colorless  digest  of  the  testimony  was 
published,  and  the  real  causes  that  led  to  a  disagreement 
remained  unexplained.  Now,  however,  as  all  the  chief 
actors  have  made  their  final  exit,  some  matters  not  of 
record  but  essentially  germane  to  the  case,  in  its  trial, 
need  no  longer  be  withheld. 

A  CAREFULLY  CHOSEN  " CIRCLE" 

The  first  step  taken  by  the  defence  was  a  motion  for 
a  change  of  venue  to  Lake  County,  based  on  the  ground 
that  a  fair  trial  could  not  be  had  in  Cook  County.  This 
was  granted.  Now  Lake  County  and,  above  all,  its  cap- 
ital city,  Waukegan,  was  known  for  its  uncompromising 
republicanism;  and  in  those  days  partisanship  was  a  far 
more  potent  motive  to,  or  excuse  for,  shady  conduct  than 
it  is  to-day.  A  jury  was  selected  with  great  care,  at  least 
on  the  part  of  the  defence.  Joined  with  Messrs.  Swett 
and  Arnold  was  a  local  practitioner,  more  politician  than 
lawyer,  with  whom  every  name  was  thoroughly  canvassed ; 
yet  it  was  not  until  the  trial  was  well  under  way  that 
Charley  Reed  suspected  he  had  to  deal  with  an  excep- 
tionally partisan-patriotic  jury;  though  why  that  should 
count  against  him  he  could  not  imagine,  as  he  was  a 
pretty  stalwart  Republican  himself.  Nor  did  he  divine 
what  particular  trumps  his  opponents  had  up  their  sleeves, 
or  suspect  how  they  would  play  them,  until  trick  after 
trick  had  counted  against  him. 


LEONARD    SWETT 


A  LINCOLN  SEANCE  3«5 

PRELIMINARY   POLITICAL  "PASSES" 

While  the  case  was  slowly  taking  its  course  in  the 
court  room,  quiet  but  effective  propaganda  was  making 
for  the  defence  on  the  outside.  For  one  thing  the  local 
Republican  paper  was  sympathetically  enlisted.  It  al- 
luded to  the  learned  counsel  as  the  most  intimate  and 
trusted  friends  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  and  felicitated  the 
townsfolk  on  the  honor  of  having  them  in  their  midst; 
while  at  the  principal  hotel  coimsel  held  nightly  receptions, 
at  which  all  the  conversation  was  reminiscent  of  a  single 
personality  known  to  nearly  everybody  in  middle  life  in 
that  community;  and  it  even  turned  out  that  several 
members  of  the  jury  had  been  on  a  quite  familiar  footing 
with  the  martyred  President,  at  a  time  when  he  was  best 
known  as  "Uncle  Abe."  Thus  in  most  subtle  manner  the 
case  was  enveloped  in  an  atmosphere  sympathetically  re- 
sponsive to  the  defence;  and  then,  when  it  was  brought  out 
that  the  father  of  the  defendant  had  been  a  member  of 
that  Spartan  band  who  in  older  days  managed  the  Un- 
derground Railroad,  the  defence  was  still  further  strength- 
ened along  the  lines  so  shrewdly  laid  out  for  it. 

UNCANNY   "influences" 

And  truly  all  this  political  campaigning  was  urgently 
needed,  for  a  case  more  intrinsically  weak,  and  bolstered 
up  with  flagrant  —  not  to  say  pitiful  —  perjiuy,  it  would 
be  hard  to  imagine.  It  is  not  pleasant  to  believe  that  a 
man  so  punctilious  as  Mr.  Arnold  had  the  reputation  of 
being,  had  aught  to  do  with  the  preparatory  steps;  nor 
that  Mr.  Swett  had,  though  he  fell  easily  in  a  somewhat 
different  category,  being  a  criminal  lawyer  by  profession. 
Indeed,  it  is  far  more  agreeable  to  surmise  that  the  same 
fine  Italian  hand  that  mapped  out  the  general  plan  of 
campaign,  and  selected  counsel  with  an  eye  single  to 


9S6  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

certain  effects,  also  looked  after  much  besides;  though 
there  can  be  no  question  that,  the  trial  once  begun,  counsel 
were  fully  cognizant  of  the  queer  material  they  had  to 
deal  with,  and  made  the  best  of  a  bad  situation. 

WITNESSES   EVOKED   FROM   THIX   AIR 

The  prosecution,  by  its  witnesses,  traced  the  widow 
to  the  neighborhood  of  the  scene  of  assault  at  the  time  of 
its  commission  and  proved  that  she  owned  a  dress  such 
as  the  assailant  wore  (according  to  the  testimony  of  the 
victim).  The  veil  was  also  brought  close  home  to  her, 
so  was  the  instrimaent  of  assault,  and  much  beside. 
Against  this  an  attempt  was  made  to  prove  an  ahbi  — 
an  ahbi  that  refused  to  hang  together.  Next  witnesses 
were  brought  forward  to  testify  that  the  assailant  seen 
by  them  (they  lived  in  a  small  cottage  in  the  neighbor- 
hood) was  a  woman  of  smaller  stature  than  the  defendant, 
and  not  habited  as  sworn  to  by  the  plaintiff.  Oddly 
enough  these  witnesses  had  never  been  heard  of  before 
as  spectators  of  the  assault,  though  the  pohce  had  searched 
far  and  wide  for  their  kind.  They  were  a  husband,  wife, 
and  two  children,  a  girl  of  about  nine,  and  a  boy  seven 
years  of  age,  and  a  more  pitiful  sight  than  these  little 
ones  presented  under  cross-examination  has  seldom  been 
seen  in  a  court. 

HYPNOTIC   SPELL  OF  THE  MATERIALIZING   "mEJUMS" 

Leonard  Swett,  as  counsel-in-chief,  piloted  them  deftly 
enough  through  their  direct  testimony.  His  tone  was  ad- 
justed to  an  insinuating  suavity,  his  manner  was  most 
fatherly,  while  Mr.  Arnold  smiled  a  benignant  encourage- 
ment, turning  frequently  to  the  jury  to  give  them  the 
benefit  of  his  inward  satisfaction  at  the  conclusive  demon- 
stration of  the  innocence  of  his  client. 


A  LINCOLN  SEANCE  827 

In  hands  more  deft,  more  suited  to  the  occasion,  the 
distressing  pity  of  it  all  could  have  been  brought  home  to 
the  jury  with  startling  conclusiveness;  but  Charley  Reed 
possessed  no  finesse,  no  talent  for  a  various  adaptation,  and 
went  at  these  children  in  his  usual  slang-whang  manner, 
his  strident  voice  in  no  wise  subdued,  and  while  he  made 
it  evident  enough  that  the  tale  told  by  them  was  one  learned 
by  heart,  he  failed  in  impressing  the  importance  of  the  fact 
on  the  consciousness  of  a  jury  held  by  the  eyes  of  counsel 
for  the  defence  —  those  "nearest  and  dearest  friends  of 
Abraham  Lincoln." 

But  the  artistically  arranged  triumph  of  counsel  for 
the  defence  —  the .  melodramatic  culmination  for  which 
all  the  preceding  manoeuvres  had  been  put  in  train  —  was 
yet  to  come,  when  the  court  for  the  nonce  seemed  to  be 
turned  into  a  seance,  in  which  the  spirit  of  Abraham  Lin- 
coln—  given  to  ghost-walking  a  good  deal  anyway,  if 
those  who  frequent  "dark  seances"  are  to  be  believed  — 
was  not  only  solemnly  invoked,  but  dramatically  evoked 
and  materialized  in  the  person  of  his  Doppelg anger, 
Leonard  Swett.  But  how  was  this  august  wraith  got  into 
the  case?  the  reader  may  ask.  Oh,  easy  enough,  as  we 
shall  see. 

A  LINCOLN   "obsession" 

Leonard  Swett  began  the  diversion  almost  with  the 
first  sentence  of  I^s  opening  speech.  The  prosecution, 
he  said,  had  boldly  charged  perjury,  and  even  hinted  at 
collusion  and  conspiracy  to  manufacture  evidence.  Pray, 
against  whom  was  this  charged?  For  himself,  he  might 
consider  the  source,  and  let  it  go  with  that;  but  he  could 
not  keep  silent  when  another  was  involved,  and  that  one  so 
illustrious  a  person  as  his  colleague,  the  Hon.  Isaac  N. 
Arnold  —  a  man  whose  name  was  indissolubly  associated 
with  that  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  a  man  who  had  been 


328  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

the  friend  and  counsellor  of  the  martyred  President,  had 
understood  him  as  had  few  others,  had  sympathized  with 
him  in  his  ideals  and  aspirations,  and  hence  had,  at  the 
solicitation  of  many  friends,  because  of  his  exceptional 
fitness,  undertaken  the  congenial  though  arduous  task 
of  writing  the  great  liberator's  biography,  a  work  that 
would  go  down  the  ages  as  the  classic  of  America's  heroic 
age.  Leonard  Swett  was  a  speaker  of  eloquence.  Tears 
seemed  to  impede  his  utterance,  and  more  than  one  jury- 
man was  observed  to  whisk  away  a  sympathetic  globule. 

THE   "influence"    IS   TRANSFERRED 

But  that  this  was  only  the  fore-play  to  an  artfully 
prepared  and  carefully  rehearsed  drama,  was  seen  the 
moment  that  Mr.  Arnold  had  his  inning.  This  gentleman 
—  with  his  old-school  manner  —  gravely,  and  with  tact- 
ful plausibility,  followed  the  lines  so  adroitly  marked  out 
by  Swett,  but  with  an  obvious  intention  to  cover  more 
ground.  Indeed,  it  was  plain  he  had  determined  to  make 
his  colleague's  association  with  Lincoln  the  burden  of  his 
address,  and  say  as  little  as  possible  about  the  case  itself. 
With  a  fine  simulation  of  feehng  he  resented  the  asper- 
sions of  counsel,  not  for  himself,  but  for  his  illustrious 
colleague  —  the  man  who  had  been  so  near  the  lamented 
Lincoln,  that  he  seemed  to  many  to  be  the  martyred  Presi- 
dent's other  self,  resembling  him  in  person,  alike  to  him 
in  thought,  inspired  by  the  same  high  motives;  and  so 
completely  had  their  personalities  become  merged  in  an 
intellectual  and  spiritual  unity  that  they  came  to  voice 
their  thoughts  with  almost  identical  mannerisms,  intona- 
tions, and  forms  of  expression. 

Indeed,  often  when  with  closed  eyes  he  followed  the 
speech  of  his  colleague,  he  imagined  himself  once  again 


HON.   ISAAC   N.   ARNOLD 


A  LINCOLN  SEANCE  329 

listening  to  the  inspired  utterances  of  the  great  com- 
moner, and  an  image  of  the  dead  President  would  invol- 
untarily present  itself  to  his  inner  vision,  and  startle  him 
with  its  striking  verisimilitude.  To  be  sure,  as  Mr.  Swett 
had  been  kind  enough  to  intimate,  he  himself  had  known 
the  great  President  from  early  manhood,  and  this  asso- 
ciation with  the  revered  mart5nr  was  now  his  most  cher- 
ished possession;  but  after  all,  what  was  this  relation  to 
the  intimate  companionship  for  so  many  years  enjoyed  by 
his  colleague!  —  a  companionship  of  heart-searchings,  in 
which  there  was  cemented  a  friendship  that  was  never 
disturbed.  And  then  in  colloquial  phrase,  studied  to  suit 
the  theme  and  mood  of  the  occasion,  the  speaker  passed 
from  phase  to  phase,  and  stage  to  stage,  of  Mr.  Swett 's 
association  with  Lincoln,-  giving  to  each  its  appropriate 
significance. 

THE   IMMORTAL   RAIL-SPLITTEE   STANDS  REVEALED 

In  the  vernacular  of  the  log  cabin  he  rehearsed  inci- 
dents illustrative  of  the  companionship  of  the  two  practi- 
tioners on  the  circuit ;  drew  pictures  that  moved  to  laugh- 
ter, of  life  at  the  village  tavern  when  "Honest  Old  Abe" 
was  the  centre  of  every  gathering;  spoke  interestingly  of 
long  horseback  rides  taken  together,  when  all  their  legal 
and  other  impedimenta  was  stowed  in  saddlebags;  pre- 
sented them  in  the  trial  of  causes;  brought  them  together 
into  the  political  arena  —  Mr.  Swett  always  Lincoln's 
chief  adviser  and  stanchest  supporter  —  until  there  came 
the  supreme  moment,  when  at  the  Wigwam,  in  Chicago, 
in  the  memorable  Convention  of  1860,  Leonard  Swett, 
the  bosom  friend,  rallied  the  forces  that  placed  in  nomina- 
tion for  President  the  Inmiortal  Rail-splitter  of  Illinois, 
the  nation's  ideal  of  honest  manhood ! 


S80  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

I  had  heard  Mr.  Arnold  address  audiences  on  many 
occasions,  especially  during  the  stirring  war  time,  and  his 
facile  periods  had  never  evoked  more  than  a  ripple  of 
emotion.  But  for  once  he  lost  sight  of  the  formalities  that 
usually  hedged  him  about,  and,  giving  a  free  rein  to  his 
feelings,  he  so  wrought  upon  his  hsteners  that  even  one 
so  imsympathetic  to  Mr.  Arnold's  personality  as  myself 
was  a  bit  moved  by  his  adroitly  injected  panegyric. 

As  for  Charley  Reed,  he  was  mad  clear  through,  as 
well  as  deeply  chagrined.  Arnold's  address  closed  the 
day's  proceedings,  carrying  Reed's  closing  speech  over  to 
the  following  morning.  "So  Swett  is  another  Lincoln,  is 
he?"  fumed  Charley  as  we  left  the  court  together.  "I  '11 
pay  them  for  that.  I  '11  just  fall  in  with  all  they  have  said 
about  themselves  and  Old  Abe.  I  '11  tell  the  jury  that 
the  likeness  of  Swett  to  Lincoln  is  perfect  in  all  respects 
but  one,  and  that  is  in  the  matter  of  brains,  where  Swett 
proves  a  complete  alibi,  something  he  has  vainly  tried  to 
do  in  this  trial." 

TRIUMPH   OF   THE  TEIUMVHIATE 

The  next  morning  I  was  on  the  qui  vive  to  hear  Char- 
ley launch  his  thunderbolt.  However,  when  it  came  to 
the  point,  his  courage  failed  him,  and  —  but  it  is  not  at 
all  likely  that  the  trial  would  have  terminated  differently 
had  he  fired  his  overcharged  catapult.  The  triumvirate, 
constituted  of  Swett,  Arnold,  and  Lincoln,  was  clearly  too 
strong  for  him. 

The  jury  "disagreed,"  and  people  who  had  followed 
the  testimony  only  in  print,  and  knew  not  what  occult 
"influence"  had  been  set  in  operation,  rubbed  their  eyes  in 
a  vain  effort  to  realize  how  such  an  outcome  could  have 
been  brought  about. 


WILBUR  F.  STOREY,  EDITOR  OF  THE 
"TIMES" 

A  Great  Editor  —  The  "Times"  Intended  as  Organ  of  Douglas 
Democracy  —  Influences  Determining  "Copperhead"  Posi- 
tion —  Plans  Frustrated  by  Death  of  Douglas  —  The  Paper 
IN  Financial  Straits  —  Character  of  Mr.  Storey  —  A  Pur- 
veyor OF  News  —  A  Vindictite  Portraiture  —  Insulting 
Epithets  Applied  to  Storey  —  Refutation  of  the  Charges  of 
"Imaginary  Liaisons,"  etc.  —  High  Character  of  the  Old 
Staff  —  Living  Witnesses  —  Documentary  Endorsement. 

WILBUR  F.  STOREY,  the  great  editor  of  the 
Times  J  like  many  another  extreme  "Copperhead" 
—  or,  for  that  matter,  Abolitionist  —  was  a  logi- 
cal product  of  circmnstance  and  temperament.  He  be- 
gan his  career  in  Chicago  mider  a  great  disappointment. 
I  give  it  on  the  authority  of  one  who  came  with  Mr. 
Storey  from  Detroit,  and  was  for  many  years  in  a  respon- 
sible position  on  the  paper,  that  Storey  purchased  the 
Times  with  the  idea  of  making  it  the  organ  of  the  Douglas 
Democracy;  and  fate  decreed  that  the  first  number  under 
his  control  should  chronicle  the  Senator's  funeral.  Storey, 
of  course,  knew  where  Douglas  stood  on  the  war  ques- 
tion; and  had  the  "Little  Giant"  lived,  it  is  more  than 
probable  that  the  course  of  the  Times  would  have  been 
quite  different. 

INFLUENCES  DETERMINING  "cOPPEEHEAD"  POSITION 

It  is  unfortunately  true  that  in  too  many  instances  the 
course  of  a  newspaper  is  determined  by  circumstances  far 

331 


332  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

more  than  by  plumb-line  principles.  What  Storey  found 
in  Chicago  on  his  advent  in  June,  1861,  was  a  divided 
Democracy  —  a  Douglas  wing,  and  a  Buchanan  wing. 
It  was  the  latter  which  the  Times,  under  its  McCormick 
ownership  and  McComas  editorship,  had  represented. 
The  Douglas  wing  had  a  champion  in  the  Post,  edited  by 
James  W.  Sheehan  and  Andrew  Matteson.  But  this 
paper  had  no  sustaining  life  of  its  own  —  it  was  maintained 
at  all  hazards  that  the  Union  cause  might  have  a  local 
Democratic  exponent;  and,  towards  the  close  of  the 
struggle,  died  a  natural  death. 

It  seems  to  have  been  Storey's  idea  —  had  Douglas 
lived  —  to  shape  matters  so  as  to  make  the  Post  a  super- 
fluity as  an  organ,  and  absorb  it.  But  the  death  of  Doug- 
las, before  Storey  had  opportunity  to  enter  on  a  plan  of 
campaign,  frustrated  this. 

-  The  Times,  when  Storey  took  it  over,  was  no  more  a 
paying  institution  than  the  Post.  Furthermore,  Storey 
had  come  to  Chicago  with  slender  means.  Here  was  a 
desperate  situation.  The  Douglas  wing  was  represented. 
Hence  the  only  paying  line  lay  straight  before  him.  It 
was  clearly  the  one  which  his  predecessor  had  marked  out, 
for  not  only  did  it  point  to  a  field  for  subscribers  —  and 
in  the  circumstances  the  only  unoccupied  field  —  but  it 
also  represented  those  Democratic  leaders  who  by  their 
wealth  were  best  able  to  give  substantial  assistance.  A 
course  once  adopted,  temperament,  and  a  grim  determina- 
tion to  succeed  did  the  rest. 

CHARACTER   OF   MR.    STOREY 

Wilbur  F.  Storey  was,  however,  much  besides  a  "  Cop- 
perhead." He  was  a  great  editor,  and  in  that  capacity 
stands  charged  with  shortcomings  having  no  relation  to 


WILBUR    F.   STOREY 
(Owner  and  Editor  of  The  Chicago  Times) 


WILBUR  F.  STOREY,  EDITOR  OF  THE    "TIMES"      333 

his  war-time  record.  His  single  aim  was  to  make  the 
Times  a  great  newspaper;  and  he  could  do  this  only  by 
making  it  pay.  The  grip  of  the  Tribune  on  advertising 
was  too  strong  to  be  broken.  Hence  he  must  look  to  cir- 
culation for  returns  —  and  the  price  of  five  cents  per  copy 
left  a  handsome  margin  above  production.  Among  other 
marked  traits  there  was  unquestionably  a  vein  of  vindic- 
tiveness  in  Mr.  Storey's  make-up  —  as  there  was  in  most 
strong  characters  in  those  days  —  but  it  was  never  shown 
except  against  his  equals.  He  was  at  bottom  a  just  man; 
and  this,  above  all,  in  his  relation  as  employer.  He  was 
far  from  over-exacting  in  his  demands  for  service;  while 
every  failure  had  its  day  in  court,  and  was  judged  on  its 
merits.  He  was  an  incarnation  of  frankness  himself,  and 
demanded  this  quality  in  his  subordinates. 

Mr.  Storey's  faults  were  largely  the  defects  of  his 
quahties.  He  was  through  and  through  a  ne«;spaper  man. 
News  for  him,  however,  included  the  shady  side  of  life; 
and  in  exploiting  this  he  gave  perhaps  too  much  scope  for 
individual  license.  I  am  certain  that  he  never  gave  an 
order  that  a  scandal  should  be  salacious  or  made  attractive 
to  the  prurient.  As  to  the  "fake"  —  now  such  a  common 
exploit  in  "yellow"  journalism  —  both  the  term  and  the 
practice  it  represents  were  unknown  in  Storey's  time; 
while  compared  with  the  sensational  press  of  the  twentieth 
century,  the  Times  would  appear  as  a  fairly  model  news- 
paper, though  probably  now  adjudged  "a  bit  slow  in  its 
pace." 

A  VINDICTIVE   PORTRAITURE 

I  am  moved  to  go  into  this  matter  at  some  length  for 
the  reason  that,  after  liis  death  and  the  demise  of  his 
paper,  a  former  employee,  for  reasons  best  known  to  him- 
self, —  and  not  unknown  to  others,  —  placed  on  record 


334  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

an  estimate  of  the  man  and  of  his  paper  that  goes  beyond 
all  warrant  in  its  vilification.  As  this  estimate  is  unques- 
tioningly  accepted  by  Major  Kirkland,  in  his  "History  of 
Chicago,"  —  and,  unless  shaken,  is  likely  to  become  estab- 
lished, —  I  feel  that  it  is  due  to  the  memory  of  a  man 
whom  his  employees  as  a  rule  held  in  esteem,  that  their 
testimony  should  go  on  record. 

It  so  happens  that  most  of  the  men  who  came  in  close 
touch  with  Mr.  Storey  during  the  last  dozen  years  of  liis 
regime  are  now,  like  myself,  residents  of  New  York.  We 
have  often  discussed  this  onslaught  among  ourselves,  and 
hoped  for  an  opportunity  to  present  to  the  world  a  differ- 
ent impression  of  the  man ;  if  for  no  other  reason  than  that 
the  picture  so  vindictively  drawn  is  a  reflection  on  the 
character  of  every  individual  who  served  him  with  loyal 
zeal. 

The  writer  referred  to,  not  content  with  speaking  of 
Mr.  Storey  as  "a  Bacchus,  a  Satyr,  a  Minotaur,  all  in 
one,"  charges  specifically  that  ''imaginary  liaisons  of  a 
filthy  character  reeked,  seethed  like  a  hell's  broth,  in  the 
Times  caldron,  and  made  a  stench  in  the  nostrils  of 
decent  people." 

EEFUTATION   OF   THE   CHARGE   OF   "IMAGINARY 
LIAISONS,"  ETC. 

While  a  man  who  held  this  opinion  of  the  Times,  and 
yet  could  serve  the  paper  for  nearly  a  score  of  years,  is 
clearly  disqualified  from  offering  his  mere  word  as  evi- 
dence on  a  question  having  moral  implications,  it  remains 
to  say  that  he  was  so  carried  away  in  his  zeal  to  blacken 
the  character  of  one  against  whom  he  felt  a  bitter  personal 
enmity,  that  he  departed  from  a  safe  rule  of  generalities, 
and  crowned  his  muck-heap  of  vituperation  with  a  charge 


WILBUR  F.  STOREY,  EDITOR  OF  THE   "TIMES"      335 

that  can  be  distinctly  refuted  by  most  creditable  wit- 
nesses; and  this  with  reference  to  the  publishing  of  "imag- 
inary liaisons."  For  my  own  part  I  permit  myself  to 
say  that  for  more  than  a  half-score  of  years  most  of  the 
local  "copy"  passed  through  my  hands  —  for  I  was  as- 
sistant to  four  different  city  editors,  as  well  as  the  city 
editor  of  its  one-time  afternoon  edition,  the  Telegraph  — • 
and  that  during  all  that  time  not  one  line  of  "imaginary" 
or  "fake"  matter  of  any  sort  or  description  was  either 
published  or  so  much  as  submitted  for  publication. 

The  staff  as  a  whole  was  one  of  high  quality,  both  as 
to  character  and  ability.  Of  this  the  best  proof  is  that  a 
majority  of  those  who  are  still  among  the  living  occupy 
positions  of  well-earned  distinction.  Among  the  honored 
dead  occur  such  well-remembered  names  as  Charles  H. 
Wright,  Charles  Northup,  and  Major  "Jack"  Hinman, 
all  city  editors;  Everett  Chamberlin,  John  F.  Finerty 
(Congressman),  Leander  Stone  (later  associate  editor 
of  The  Northwestern  Christian  Advocate) ,  Frank  Dav- 
idson (who  later  held  a  responsible  position  on  the  Asso- 
ciated Press),  John  Finnane,  George  Pratt,  Charles  At- 
wood,  James  Chisolm,  Frank  C.  McClenthen,  Samuel 
Steele,  and  others. 

LIVING  WITNESSES 

Among  the  living  are  men  so  well  known  as  Horatio 
W.  Seymour  (for  more  than  a  decade  telegraph  and 
night  managing  editor  of  the  Times,  later  editor  of  The 
Chicago  Herald^  then  founder  and  editor  of  The  Chicago 
Chronicle)  i  now  editorial  supen^isor  of  The  New  York 
World.  Colonel  Charles  S.  Diehl  (law  reporter  and  war 
correspondent) ,  now  assistant  general  manager  and  secre- 
tary  of  the   Associated   Press;   Joseph   Edgar   Cham- 


836  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

berlin  (news  editor  and  later  managing  editor),  now  liter- 
ary editor  and  art  critic  on  the  Mail;  Fred  Perry  Powers 
(reporter,  editorial  writer,  and  Washington  correspond- 
ent) ,  now  an  editorial  writer  on  The  Philadelphia  Record; 
T.  Z.  Cowles  (reporter  and  night  editor),  now  editor  of 
The  American  Economist;  Cyrus  C.  Adams  (reporter 
and  correspondent),  now  editor  of  the  "Bulletin"  of  the 
American  Geographical  Society,  and  perhaps  the  high- 
est authority  on  matters  geographical  in  America ;  George 
G.  Martin  (telegraph  editor  and  later  managing  editor), 
now  in  a  responsible  position  on  the  Associated  Press; 
Charles  E.  Harrington  (assistant  city  editor),  now  ex- 
change editor  on  The  Wall  Street  Journal;  Frank  H. 
Brooks  (reporter  and  special  topic  writer) ,  now  connected 
with  the  American  Press  Association.  All  of  the  above, 
—  with  one  exception,  —  including  myself,  were  for  a 
number  of  years  contemporaries  on  the  Times.  Hardly 
a  line  of  "copy"  went  into  print  that  did  not  go  through 
one  or  another's  hands;  and  hence  there  ought  to  be  no 
mistake  as  to  what  was  expected  of  us,  or  any  serious  flaw 
in  our  estimate  of  the  man  whom  we  willingly  served. 

So  long  as  one  got  the  facts  —  and  nothing  but  the 
facts  —  the  manner  of  treatment  was  left  by  Mr.  Storey 
largely  to  the  writer's  inclinations.  This  being  the  case, 
it  may  be  said,  as  throwing  light  on  the  character  of  Mr. 
Storey's  traducer,  that  no  member  of  the  staff  so  persist- 
ently drew  near  the  line  of  risque  —  and  this  more  particu- 
larly in  ante-fire  days.  Later,  he  was  for  a  time  the 
paper's  London  correspondent,  in  which  capacity  he  sent 
a  weekly  letter,  and  this  frequently  concerned  itself  with 
some  debatable  matter.  Now  others  who  served  in  that 
capacity,  either  before  or  after,  were  such  well-known 
writers  as  Joseph  Hatton,  the  novelist,  and  the  Rev.  Mon- 


WILBUR  F.  STOREY,  EDITOR  OF  THE   "TIMES"     837 

cure  D.  Conway ;  and  is  it  Conceivable  that  either  of  these 
well-known  writers  would  have  accepted  the  post  if  ex- 
pected to  serve  up  a  weekly  melange  of  salacious  gossip? 

DOCUMENTARY    ENDOESEMENT 

The  following  letter  speaks  for  itself: 

Ofl5ce  of  The  Evening  Mail, 
New  York,  September  16,  1909- 
My  Dear  Cook: 

You  are  right  in  what  you  say  about  Wilbur  F.  Storey  in  the 
chapter  which  you  have  prepared  for  your  book  about  old  days  in 
Chicago.  I  worked  for  and  with  Storey  for  several  years,  part  of  the 
time  as  managing  editor.  He  was  always  absolutely  square  and  hon- 
orable in  all  his  relations  with  his  men,  so  far  as  I  could  observe;  and 
so  far  as  his  relations  with  me  are  concerned,  he  was  "e'en  as  just 
a  man  as  ever  my  imagination  coped  withal."  I  never  knew  him  to 
order  or  connive  at  any  kind  of  faking,  and  his  ordinary  attitude  in 
news  investigations  was  to  get  at  the  exact  truth. 

It  is  true  that  he  allowed  a  great  deal  of  latitude  to  individual 
writers.  That  was  a  part  of  his  plan.  He  once  said  to  me,  "What- 
ever success  I  have  had  is  due  to  the  use  of  money  and  men.  When 
I  had  little  money  I  had  to  use  men.  I  get  the  best  there  is  in  a 
man  out  of  him."  The  connection  in  which  he  used  this  statement 
showed  that  he  meant  that  he  gave  full  play  to  whatever  abilities  the 
man  had.  It  was  never  his  idea  to  make  a  man  do  a  thing  as  he. 
Storey,  would  have  done  it,  but  as  the  man  himself  wanted  to  do  it 
when  aroused  and  encouraged  to  the  point  of  doing  his  best  work. 
When  he  supposed  that  a  man  was  doing  that,  he  never  interfered. 

Sincerely  yours, 

Joseph  Edgar  Chamberlim'. 

The  undersigned  fully  endorse  the  estimate  of  Wilbur  F.  Storey's 
character  and  attitude  as  set  forth  by  our  former  associates  on  the 
Times,  Frederick  Francis  Cook  and  Joseph  Edgar  Chamberlin. 
Signed:  Horatio  W.  Seymour,  Charles  S.  Diehl,  Fred  Perry  Powers, 
T.  Z.  Cowles,  Cyrus  C.  Adams,  George  G.  Martin,  Charles  E.  Har- 
rington, and  Frank  H.  Brooks. 


338  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

I  will  conclude  with  this  extract  from  Fred  Perry- 
Powers  : 

"I  was  a  reporter  on  the  Times  from  1876  to  1880,  and  then  an 
editorial  writer  from  1880  to  1882.  I  was  the  Washington  correspond- 
ent until  1888.  I  never  knew  of  any  faked  news,  never  heard  of  any, 
and  do  not  believe  there  was  any.  .  .  .  The  Times  was  remem- 
bered as  a  Copperhead  paper,  and  as  such  it  was  assumed  to  be  capable 
of  anything.  Nobody  under  sixty  years  of  age  knows  what  the  word 
'Copperhead'  meant  when  we  were  youngsters." 


J 


THE  OLD  "LAKE  FRONT" 

Early  Chicago's  only  Gathering  Place  —  The  Sunday  After- 
noon Parade  —  The  Elite  of  Boarding-house  Life  —  Love's 
Young  Dream  —  Eden  Invaded:  Baseball,  the  Exposition 
Building  —  The  "Marble  Terrace" — Class  Distinctions  Re- 
sented —  The  Ogdens,  Newberrys,  and  Arnolds  in  Frame 
Dwellings — The  Nouveaux-Riches  —  Wood  versus  Marblk 
— "Unpityinq  Grandeur"  —  Some  of  the  Unpityino  Grand. 

I  CAME  by  chance  upon  a  shabby  old  volume  which, 
to  my  surprise,  gave  a  pictorial  glimpse  of  the  "Lake 
Front"  (now  Grant  Park)  of  long  ago;  and  while  it 
was  but  a  poor  attempt  at  verisimilitude,  it  sufficed  to  re- 
call a  time  when  I  first  knew  it,  in  1862  —  a  strip  of  green, 
in  places  less  than  a  hundred  yards  in  width,  with  a  basin 
for  boating  between  its  bank  and  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad  tracks.  Much  of  the  South  Side  (between 
Washington  and  Van  Buren  Streets,  east  of  Clark,  except- 
ing parts  of  Wabash  and  Michigan  Avenues)  now  covered 
by  skyscrapers,  was  then  occupied  by  boarding-houses  of 
all  sorts  and  conditions,  and  this  "Lake  Front"  was 
practically  the  only  breathing-place  in  the  city. 

THE   SUNDAY   AFTERNOON   PARADE 

On  every  pleasant  Sunday  afternoon,  almost  the  entire 
unattached  population  would  be  there  on  parade,  or  other- 
wise lending  itself  to  the  filling  up  of  a  rather  gay  and  fes- 
tive scene.  I  am  not  sure  that  unattached  is  the  appro- 
priate descriptive  under  which  to  group  these  odds  and 
ends  of  the  social  medium;  for,  on  reflection,  it  comes 

339 


340  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

over  me  that  most  of  the  folk  there  were  generally  very- 
much  attached  to  somebody,  or  something  or  other  —  and 
that  rather  more  warmly  than  the  staid  people  whose  fine 
mansions  faced  the  esplanade  thought  either  necessary  or 
seemly. 

It  was  here  the  star  male  boarder  came  with  the  land- 
lady's best  looking  daughter ;  and  those  of  lesser  distinction 
in  the  hierarchy  of  boarding-house  life  escorted  other 
daughters,  or  some  chance  fellow-boarder  of  the  opposite 
sex,  —  though  this  sort  were  comparatively  rare  in  those 
days,  for  neither  the  mellifluous  "Hello  girl,"  nor  the  de- 
mure typist,  had  as  yet  been  evolved,  —  and  so  on  down  the 
list  to  the  saucy  waitress,  the  frisky  chambermaid,  and 
lastly  the  seasoned  cook ;  though  the  kind  who  fell  into  the 
class  of  "help"  (when  they  did  not  fall  into  something 
more  embracing),  usually  deferred  their  visits  to  a  later 
hour,  when  an  indulgent  moon  lent  her  benignant  counte- 
nance to  a  larger  insouciance  than  was  permissible  under 
the  stricter  regime  of  old  Sol,  and  coquettish  stars  fur- 
thered and  abetted  the  promptings  of  love's  young  dream 
with  merry  twinklings,  which  plainly  said,  "We  are  not 
seeing  anything." 

love's  young  dream 

There  were  no  reserved  seats  on  this  "common"  either 
to  invite  or  detain  the  haughty  and  proud.  Indeed,  if  I 
recall  the  situation  rightly,  there  were  no  seats  of  any 
kind,  except  such  as  these  heedless  folk  naturally  brought 
with  them.  No,  democratic  fashion,  if  sit  you  must, 
you  sat  on  the  grass;  and  as  there  were  no  signs  warning 
possible  trespassers  to  "keep  off,"  the  green  places  were 
generally  pretty  well  worn.  When  possible  (and  it  fre- 
quently reduced  itself  to  a  question  of  elbow  room)  the 
swain  sat  on  the  extreme  lakeward  verge,  his  legs  dangling 


By  Courtesy  of  the  Chicaero  Historital  Society 

Looking  North  from  Park  Row 


B>  Courtesy  of  the  Chieago  Historical  Society 

Looking  Northeast  from  near  Terrace  Row 

THE    LAKE    FRONT 


THE  OLD   "LAKE  FRONT"  341 

in  space,  while  his  "best  girl,"  with  an  effusion  of  blissful 
coyness,  did  the  same,  though  not  without  gallant  support. 
And  had  you  been  intent  on  a  stroll  of  observation,  it 
would  most  likely  have  revealed  a  well-packed  line  that 
reached  all  the  way  from  Washington  Street  to  Park  Row. 
Late  in  the  sixties  this  guileless  Eden  was  ruthlessly 
invaded ;  and  thereafter  practical  interests  claimed  it  more 
and  more  for  their  own.  First  the  northern  part  was  set 
apart  for  a  baseball  field ;  then  later  the  Exposition  build- 
ing of  1873  absorbed  another  slice;  and  so  because  of  these 
encroachments  —  and  again  because  the  old  boarding- 
houses  had  nearly  all  disappeared  —  and  finally  because 
parks  everywhere  presented  rival  attractions,  the  old 
"Lake  Front"  knew  its  crowds  no  more. 

THE   "marble   TEREACE" 

But  whatever  offences  may  be  charged  by  the  captious 
against  this  one-time  popular  rendezvous,  there  was  never- 
theless much  innocent  enjoyment  for  the  young  people 
who  in  animated  groups  sauntered  up  and  down  the  finely 
shaded  walk  of  the  avenue ;  and  amongst  these  at  least  — 
however  it  might  be  with  their  elders  —  there  was  little 
envy  of  those  who,  the  world  apart,  dwelt  in  the  stately 
"Bishop's  Palace";  nor  of  others  who  farther  down  — 
where  the  Auditorium  building  now  rears  its  massive 
front  —  lived  in  awesome  exclusiveness  in  the  much- 
talked-of  "Marble  Terrace." 

And  mention  of  this  "Marble  Terrace"  brings  up  a 
curious  and  interesting  state  of  the  public  mind,  very  note- 
worthy in  those  days,  which  bitterly  resented  any  separa- 
tion of  <;lass  from  mass  by  an  outward  show  —  a  mode 
of  distinction  now  accepted  as  quite  a  matter  of  course. 
This  feeling,  so  strong  among  the  masses,  was  shared  in 


342  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

no  small  degree  by  people  of  means,  with  whom  its  ex- 
pression took  the  form  of  a  careful  avoidance  of  anything 
calculated  to  bring  their  more  favored  estate  conspicuously 
to  public  attention. 

Curiously  enough,  what  is  now  regarded  as  above 
others  a  mark  of  ostentatious  exclusiveness  —  i.  e.,  the  ap- 
propriation of  large  areas  of  valuable  ground  with  park- 
like surroundings  to  accommodate  a  single  mansion  — 
met  with  little  criticism  in  those  days,  or  the  Ogdens,  the 
Newberrys,  the  Arnolds,  and  others  of  the  exclusive 
"North  Side  set"  would  have  come  in  for  a  large  share 
of  public  animadversion,  which,  I  am  sure,  was  not  the 
case ;  for  in  Chicago,  at  a  time  when  these  large  areas  were 
set  apart  for  private  use,  land  was  comparatively  both 
cheap  and  plenty.  Besides,  the  mansions  that  graced  these 
demesnes  were  generally  of  wood,  and  moreover  did  not 
offend  by  fronting  obtrusively  on  the  street. 

THE   NOUVEAUX-RICHES 

The  sources  of  this  resentment  against  ostentation  in 
old  —  or  should  one  say  young? —  Chicago,  are  not  far  to 
seek.  The  mania  for  display,  now  so  common  everywhere, 
had  not  then  manifested  itself  to  any  degree.  It  arose 
the  country  over  after  the  close  of  the  war,  with  the  rise 
of  a  new  rich  class,  whose  dominating  business  charac- 
teristics found  social  expression  in  ostentatious  display. 
Besides,  in  early  Chicago  there  were  special  reasons  for 
resentment  against  any  undue  parade  of  fortune,  inasmuch 
as  the  entire  population  had  once  stood  on  an  even  footing, 
not  to  say  bare-footing.  While  Chicago  was  still  a  mere 
frontier  post,  both  Cincinnati  and  St.  Louis  already 
possessed  families  with  hereditary  wealth ;  and,  in  spite  of 
our  boasted  democratic  equality,  we  unconsciously  dis- 


By  Courtesy  of  tlie  Cliicapo  Historical  So<Mety 

Park  Row 


By  Courtesy  of  tlie  Chicago  Historical  Sm-icI  \ 

Terraci'  Row  —  "The  Marble  Terrace' 

THE    LAKE    FRONT 


THE  OLD    "LAKE  FRONT"  343 

tinguish  between  differences  of  birth  and  differences  that 
in  time  arise  out  of  what  were  apparently  equal  oppor- 
tunities. In  these  circumstances  it  went  rather  hard  with 
the  would-be  "aristocrat"  of  the  early  sixties  who  essayed 
to  "put  on  style,"  for  it  grew  into  a  habit  with  folk  to 
remind  him  that  he  once  tinkered  or  cobbled  for  them. 
Besides,  it  went  almost  without  saying,  under  such  con- 
ditions as  obtained  in  early  Chicago,  that  those  who 
emerged  from  the  ruck  did  so  frequently  by  reason  of 
qualities  that  do  not  usually  commend  themselves  to  a 
carping  public. 

WOOD  VERSUS  MARBLE 

And  so  it  came  to  pass  that  when  a  number  of  well- 
to-do —  and  doubtless  also  well-meaning  —  folk,  made 
common  cause  in  the  erection  of  residences  similar  in  ap- 
pearance, and  "all  in  a  row"  —  pretentious  or  impressive 
only  because  of  their  solid  alignment  for  an  entire  block 
—  that  the  public  mind  was  stirred  to  a  great  ado;  and 
what  was  known  to  its  owners  as  "Terrace  Row"  was 
generally  referred  to  as  the  "Marble  Terrace,"  with  an 
especial  emphasis  on  the  "Marble"  and  an  accentuated 
fling  at  the  "Terrace."  In  a  way,  it  was  the  first  marked 
departure,  for  residential  purposes,  from  wood  —  one  of 
the  chief  elements  of  the  city's  greatness  —  as,  by  this  time, 
Chicago  had  risen  to  be  the  leading  lumber  market  of  the 
world.  Therefore,  "marble,"  even  though  of  the  Lamont 
sandstone  variety,  with  at  best  only  a  marblesque  appear- 
ance, savored  of  pride  and  put  a  stamp  of  disapproval, 
if  not  of  degradation,  on  one  of  Chicago's  chief  articles 
of  commerce.  Moreover,  was  it  not  suggestive  of  kingly 
palaces,  and  those  "alabaster  halls"  through  which  the 
perfumed  air  stole  on  the  olfactories  of  Claude  Melnotte, 
the  stage  hero  par  excellence  of  those  days,  through  the 


S44  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

medium  of  whose  exuberant  fancy,  nascent  Chicago  looked 
upon  the  world  of  romance?  As  a  stage  eifect,  under  such 
a  trustworthy  manager  as  J.  H.  McVicker,  "marble 
halls'*  and  even  "terraces"  might  be  guiltless  of  offence; 
but  the  same  thing  in  real  life,  on  Michigan  Avenue,  al- 
ready a  synonym  for  aristocratic  exclusiveness,  was  not  to 
be  tolerated  without  a  vigorous  protest. 

"UNPITYING   grandeur" 

Lest  the  reader  imagine  that  time  and  an  exuberant 
fancy  have  conspired  to  over-color  this  picture,  so  true  to 
half  a  century  ago,  I  beg  leave  to  submit  an  extract  from 
a  "Hand  Book  of  Chicago,"  published  in  the  early  sixties, 
in  which,  anent  this  "Marble  -Terrace,"  occurs  the  fol- 
lowing: 

"These  lofty  fronts  [three  stories,  with  high  basement]  coming 
sqnarely  to  the  sidewalk  [they  really  stood  back  ten  feet  or  more] 
have  a  glittering,  heartless  appearance,  that  stamps  them  as  apt  repre- 
sentations of  fashion.  They  have  display,  richness,  a  sort  of  stern, 
unpitying  grandeur,  but  no  warmth,  no  geniality.  There  are  in  build- 
ings a  species  of  human-like  attributes,  that  attract  or  repel  the 
observer." 

IN^aturally  there  will  be  some  curiosity  to  learn  who 
these  people  were  that  with  so  much  pomp  and  pride  set 
themselves  apart  in  "unpitying  grandeur."  They  were 
J.  Y.  Scammon,  P.  F.  W.  Peck,  "Deacon"  William 
Bross,  Denton  Gurnee,  Peter  L.  Yoe,  S.  C.  Griggs,  Tut- 
hill  King,  Judge  Hugh  T.  Dickey,  General  Cook,  John  L. 
Clarke,  and  Mrs.  Walker.  How  the  future  will  deal  with 
the  reputations  of  these  heartless  offenders,  may  be  left 
to  the  reader's  imagination. 


SHARP-CORNER  RHAPSODY 

Ibach  and  Gottlieb  :  a  Bit  of  Bohemia  —  Saturday  Night  En- 
tertainments —  Precursors  of  Theodore  Thomas  —  "  Bio 
Bill"  Hurlbut  —  "Come  Where  My  Love  Lies  Dreaming"  — 
Melodious  "Plucking"  —  Lost  Chords. 

IBACH  was  a  character  and  Gottlieb  was  another.  A 
third  factor  in  a  notable  ante-fire  triune  was  the  south- 
west comer  of  La  Salle  and  Randolph  Streets,  where 
stood  a  time-worn,  two-story  frame  house,  known  to  the 
Chicago  of  the  sixties  as  "  The  Sharp  Corner."  So  far  as 
the  "lay  of  the  land"  had  anything  to  do  with  it,  this  par- 
ticular corner  was  not  a  whit  more  pointed  than  any  other 
thereabout.  No,  the  acuteness  was  all  in  Ibach  and 
Gottlieb. 

If  Ibach  could  answer  to  a  baptismal  prefix  it  never 
became  public  property;  and  if  Gottlieb  was  blessed  with 
any  sort  of  cognominal  suffix,  it  remained  a  profound 
secret.  Ibach  was  proprietor,  Gottlieb  factotum,  and 
"The  Sharp  Corner"  a  Wirthschaft  dear  to  many  an  old- 
time  Bohemian,  where  the  food  was  ever  savory,  the  beer 
of  the  best,  while  the  wine  —  but  that  was  usually  more  or 
less  by  the  way,  so  far  at  least  as  we  of  Bohemia  were 
concerned.  However,  what  really  counted  was  that  Ibach 
played  the  zither,  and  few  have  touched  this  bewitching 
instrument  more  sympathetically  —  an  estimate  apprecia- 
tively emphasized  when  in  after  years  Theodore  Thomas 
presented  him  as  a  soloist  at  some  of  his  summer-night 
concerts. 

345 


S46  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

Ibach,  a  Hungarian  by  birth,  had  the  musical  passion 
of  a  gypsy ;  and  when  the  humor  of  a  propitious  occasion 
reached  full-tide  (best  evoked  by  liberal  libations  of  his 
most  expensive  champagnes)  he  would  play  as  one  pos- 
sessed, with  eyes  in  fine  frenzy  rolling  —  and  they  were 
eyes  to  remember  —  his  body  swaying  this  way  and  that 
in  rhythmic  abandonment  to  some  moving  cadence,  while 
big,  ecstatic  tears  fell  unheeded  on  his  beloved  instrument. 

Ibach's  tongue  readily  worked  overtime;  whereas 
Gottlieb,  true  to  his  role  of  foil,  seldom  permitted  himself 
to  go  beyond  a  laconic  "Ja  wohV  If  the  one  exhibited 
himself  as  an  embodiment  of  irascibility,  the  other  stood  at 
attention  as  an  incarnation  of  imperturbability.  Ibach 
was  short  and  lean;  Gottlieb  was  short  also,  but  as  rotund 
as  a  brownie,  which  goggle-eyed  tribe  he  oddly  resembled. 
The  one  would  fume  and  storm  on  the  slightest  provoca- 
tion, his  face  afire,  his  eyes  aflame;  the  other  held  ever  to 
a  sphinx-like  silence  —  the  placidity  of  his  vacuous  visage 
seldom  disturbed  by  so  much  as  the  raising  of  an  eyelash. 
Ibach's  explosions,  when  not  touched  off  to  order,  were 
but  the  necessary  escapes  of  an  overstrung  temperament; 
and  almost  as  quickly  as  an  outburst  came  it  would  sub- 
side —  only  there  was  always  another  waiting  its  turn.  In 
one  respect  only  did  these  twin  stars  shine  in  unison  —  both 
were  preposterously  bald. 

Ibach  held  his  talent  as  a  zitherist  at  full  value.  That 
piercing  eye  of  his  sized  up  a  crowd  in  a  flash.  His  zither 
was  his  money-maker;  and,  as  a  rule,  he  would  touch  it 
only  for  big  game  —  "Board  of  Trade  fellers"  being  a 
favorite  quarry. 

An  habitue  once  remarked:  "Why  didn't  you  play 
for  Jones  and  his  friends  the  other  night?  They  were 
much  disappointed."  "Vat?  dose  fellers!  Pooh!  Notting 
but  beer  guzzlers." 


SHARP-CORNER  RHAPSODY  S47 

HIS   SATURDAY   NIGHT   ENTERTAINMENTS 

Ibach  had,  however,  a  sentimental  as  well  as  a  mer- 
cenary side.  With  a  few  he  was  an  extravagant  Schwdr- 
mer;  and  to  this  kind  all  Saturday  nights  were  consecrate. 
Then  it  did  not  so  much  matter  if  nothing  more  expensive 
than  beer  or  wine  of  the  Rhine  was  ordered ;  though  when- 
ever "Big  Bill"  Hurlbut  —  he  of  later  baseball-manage- 
ment fame  —  was  present  (and  he  was  seldom  absent  from 
these  Saturday  night  assemblies),  nothing  but  champagne 
would  answer;  and  when,  as  quite  frequently  happened, 
he  took  advantage  of  his  generous  privileges  to  introduce 
a  Philistine  or  two,  it  was  understood  that  they  came  pre- 
pared to  pay  grand  opera  box  prices  for  their  share  of  the 
entertainment. 

I  had  a  friend  in  William  Buderbach,  whom  a  few  may 
recall  as  whilom  leader  of  McVicker's  Theatre  orchestra. 
Buderbach's  physiognomy  ordinarily  expressed  about  as 
much  animation  as  a  wooden  cigar-store  sign ;  but  beneath 
this  inexpressive,  unemotional  exterior,  there  dwelt  a  soul 
wedded  to  a  marvellous  "Cremona,"  and  the  inspira- 
tions of  the  masters.  One  Saturday  night  we  left  the 
theatre  together,  and  that  gave  opportunity  to  invite  him 
to  join  the  Ibach  circle.  Alwaj'^s  shy  and  diffident,  he 
yielded  a  reluctant  consent ;  but  once  there,  he  must  needs 
introduce  his  best  beloved;  and  from  that  time  forward, 
for  happily  many  moons,  Ibach  and  Buderbach  became 
for  us  daft  dreamfolk,  dual  well-springs  of  dulcet 
harmonies. 

The  elect  would  ingather  shortly  after  ten,  and  it  was 
always  a  sore  disappointment  to  me  if  some  untoward 
news  event  compelled  me  to  forego  any  part  of  the 
golden  hours.  As  soon  as  an  instalment  of  the  Burschen 
— Ibach's  German  alternative  for  his  English  "fellers" — 
put  in  an  appearance,  Gottlieb  would  begin  manoeuvring 


348  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

to  rid  the  place  of  all  not  duly  accredited,  by  overmuch 
looking  at  the  clock,  and  a  superadded  wiping  of  tables, 
thereby  starting  feelings  of  discomfort  in  all  not  of  the 
elect.  And  no  sooner  was  there  a  happy  riddance  than 
the  door  was  locked,  and  so  remained  for  all  not  provided 
with  the  magic  sesame. 

PRECURSORS   OF   THEODORE  THOMAS 

Sometimes,  in  the  interval  from  the  last  gathering, 
Ibach  might  have  made  some  precious  musical  find,  and 
would  begin  to  whet  our  appetites  for  the  coming  feast 
with  discourse  upon  his  discovery.  "You  will  hear!"  he 
would  exclaim,  "it  is  himmlich!'*  —  and  thus  would  he 
open  by  anticipation  the  antechamber  of  the  heaven  to  be 
later  our  possession. 

Celestial  rhapsody!  Ah,  the  reader  must  remember 
the  time  of  which  this  is  written.  Theodore  Thomas,  even 
as  a  visitor,  was  not  to  rise  on  Chicago's  horizon  for  jet 
many  a  year ;  while  such  luminaries  as  Bloomfield  Zeisler 
and  Maud  Powell,  veritably  to  the  manner  born,  were  still 
a  part  of  the  formless  void.  In  those  days  artists  from 
elsewhere  were  rare  birds,  indeed ;  and  almost  the  only  in- 
digenous music  offered  the  general  public  was  something 
on  Sunday  afternoons,  called  a  Sacred  Concert,  at  the 
North  Clark  Street  Turner  Hall  (and  lol  they  still  abide) 
that  rang  its  everlasting  changes  on  overtures  to,  or  pot- 
pouris  compounded  of,  the  "Czar  and  Zimmermann," 
"Nabucho,"  "Robert  le  Diable,"  "Martha,"  "The  Bo- 
hemian Girl,"  "Maritana,"  "WiUiam  Tell,"  "The  Merry 
Wives  of  Windsor,"  and  a  few  more  of  this  delectable  com- 
pany —  while  what  fell  to  our  lot  in  this  "Sharp  Corner" 
oasis  would  bring  joy  to  cultivated  lovers  of  music  even 
to-day. 


SHARP-COKNER  RHAPSODY  *    349 

"big  bill"  HUELBUT 

There  were  generally  about  a  dozen  for  audience.  A 
longish  table  was  tacitly  yielded  to  the  players  and  such 
"champagners"  as  might  be  present  —  i.  e.,  Board  of 
Trade  " fellers"  under  Hurlbut's  leading.  The  rest  would 
be  grouped  about  smaller  tables,  while  Gottlieb,  personify- 
ing silence,  attended  to  orders.  Ibach  invariably  sat  at  the 
head  of  the  table,  Buderbach  at  his  left,  Hurlbut  at  liis 
right,  and  the  latter's  immediate  friends  farther  down.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  however,  the  real  head  of  the  table  was 
wherever  "Big  Bill"  sat.  He  completely  filled  the  big- 
gest chair,  and  had  that  masterful  way  to  which  subordina- 
tion is  readily  yielded.  Besides,  he  would  often  "blow  in'* 
(this  will  not  appear  as  slang  to  any  who  recall  his  mighty 
chest  emissions)  twenty  dollars  or  more  at  a  sitting  —  the 
more  usually  depending  on  the  turn  the  day's  market  had 
taken.  When  there  was  a  violin  accompaniment,  the  selec- 
tions had  as  a  rule  a  semi-classical  flavor ;  but  in  his  zither 
solos,  with  an  eye  strictly  to  business,  Ibach  would  shrewd- 
ly fit  himself  to  the  part  of  his  audience  which  divided  their 
attention  between  the  Muse  of  Music  and  the  Widow 
Cliquot. 

It  would  scarcely  be  true  to  speak  of  "Big  Bill"  as  a 
classicist  musically  —  even  if  a  whole  class  by  himself.  Nor 
was  he,  strictly  speaking,  a  romanticist  —  though  in  an 
old-fashioned  way  chock-full  of  sentiment.  A  tender  love- 
song  of  Schubert's  or  Schumann's  might  now  and  then 
evoke  a  grunt  of  appreciation;  but,  on  the  whole,  he  was 
only  charitably  tolerant  toward  the  masters  because  others 
enjoyed  them.  What  he  hked  better  was  something  that 
had  the  lilt  of  the  Tyrol,  or  thrilled  with  Magyar  abandon. 
He  was,  however,  never  completely  in  his  element  until  by 
easy  but  well  calculated  approaches  Ibach  arrived  at  what 


360  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

may  be  called  the  "Way  down  upon  the  Suwanee  River" 
or  "Come  where  my  love  lies  dreaming"  stage.  Then,  and 
not  till  then,  did  "Big  Bill"  come  wholly  to  the  fore.  And 
then,  while  his  eyes  blazed  a  challenge,  and  his  transfigured 
jowl  testified  to  a  complete  surrender  to  the  hour,  amidst  a 
mighty  heaving  of  chest,  there  would  issue  as  from  subter- 
ranean depths  the  incontrovertible  verdict,  "  There  's  music 
for  you!" 

At  this  stage  of  the  fantasia  it  was  never  difficult  to 
catch  Gottlieb's  eye,  as,  with  napkin  over  shoulder,  he 
stood  well  within  range  —  and  there  would  invariably  fol- 
low (accompanied  by  a  sweep  of  the  arm  that  included  the 
entire  company)  the  Hurlbutian  laconic:    "More  wine!" 

Now,  from  an  illumined  Ibach:  "Gottlieb,  did  you 
hear?" 

From  an  imperturbable  Gottlieb:  ^^Ja  wohl!" 

From  an  exasperated  Ibach:  "Himmel  donnerwetier! 
Vy  don't  you  bring  it?" 

Eruptions  at  this  stage  of  the  champagne  flow  repre- 
sented only  the  veriest  stage  thunder.  Ibach  knew  only 
too  well  what  a  contrast  his  electrical  discharges  formed  to 
Gottlieb's  unshakable  immobility;  and  he  was  not  above 
throwing  in  a  wink  and  other  theatrical  "business"  to 
heighten  the  effect. 

Inscrutable  Gottlieb  —  was  he  ever  caught  off  guard 
—  in  mental  undress,  as  it  were?  I  doubt  it.  And  yet,  on 
occasion  when  some  exceptionally  moving  cadenza  flooded 
all  hearts  to  suffusion  of  eyes,  I  sometimes  imagined  I 
could  detect  a  facial  flutter  as  of  some  inmost  chord,  oc- 
cultly touched.    But  it  was  probably  an  optical  illusion. 


SHARP-CORNER  RHAPSODY  351 

MELODIOUS   "plucking" 

Ibach*s  Board  of  Trade  "Lambs,"  though  shorn  so 
deftly,  and  to  such  lulling  accompaniment,  did  not  always 
undergo  the  operation  without  suspicion  of  ulterior  de- 
signs. Once  a  visitor,  who  had  been  "played"  to  a  lively 
tune,  turned  to  the  maestro  with  the  inquiry:  "What  do 
you  call  it  when  you  work  the  strings?" 

"Dey  call  it  'plucking'  in  English." 

"Indeed?  I  was  under  the  impression  it  was  the  boys 
who  came  in  for  that." 

For  a  moment  Ibach  did  not  seem  to  see  the  point. 
Then,  suddenly,  with  a  shout:  "By  Jimminy,  dat  is  goot 
—  Gottlieb,  one  more  bottle  on  the  shentleman." 

From  the  "shentleman":  "Gottlieb,  make  it  two." 

"Ja  wohir 

LOST  CHORDS 

After  the  fire,  Ibach  reestablished  himself  on  Fifth 
Avenue,  in  the  midst  of  a  continual  hurly-burly.  And  al- 
though Gottlieb  v/as  there  to  maintain  traditions,  and  the 
zither  was  played  occasionally,  the  old-timers  sadly  missed 
the  intimate  atmosphere  to  which  they  had  been  so  long 
accustomed,  and  the  old  reunions  somehow  refused  to  be 
revived.  Obviously,  too  much  had  happened  in  the  mean- 
time, and  we  were  all  living  in  another  Chicago.  In  con- 
trast with  the  glaring  effrontery  of  the  upstart  new  —  how 
soft  and  mellow  the  old,  how  instinct  with  the  ineffable 
charm  of  a  perfect  day  that  is  forever  gone! 


AN  EARLY  SOCIABLE 

Mayor  Rice's  Eldest  Daughter  Gives  a  Party  —  An  Editorial 
Edict — First  Attempt  at  Society  Reporting  in  Chicago 
' — Buds  and  Belles  of  Long  Ago — Why  the  Write-up 
Failed — An  Impressionable  Reporter — An  Impromptu  Sere- 
nade—  "Marching  through  Georgia"  not  a  War-time  Lyric 
—  Rhapsodies — The  Apparition  of  the  Dreaded  "Scoop." 

I  HAVE  frequently  recalled  with  amusement,  not  un- 
mixed with  a  glamour  of  youthful  sentiment,  a  solitary 

experience  as  a  "society"  reporter.  As  it  was  also  the 
first  attempt  in  Chicago  to  make  a  newspaper  "story"  out 
of  a  private  "sociable,"  some  account  of  what  happily 
proved  a  futile  essay  urges  itself  for  a  place  in  these  recol- 
lections. It  was,  I  think,  in  the  Summer  of  1866.  John  B. 
Rice,  the  whilom  actor  and  theatrical  manager,  —  than 
whom  no  one  In  the  community  was  more  esteemed,  —  was 
Mayor  at  the  time;  and,  no  doubt  because  of  her  position, 
his  eldest  daughter  decided  to  give  a  "party"  to  some  of 
her  girl  friends. 

How  any  inkling  of  the  affair  came  to  the  ear  of  our 
city  editor  still  puzzles  me,  for  in  those  days  hints  of 
coming  events  of  that  nature  were  never  "accidentally" 
dropped  into  newspaper  offices  by  caterers,  florists, 
modistes,  or  "friends  of  the  family,"  as  has  been  known 
to  happen  in  these  later  times.  The  hour  was  near  mid- 
night. I  had  just  "turned  in"  what  was  undoubtedly  a 
graphic  and  more  or  less  picturesque  account  of  a  spec- 
tacular police  raid  on  Roger  Plant's  "Under  the  Willow," 
southeast  corner  of  Monroe  Street  and  Fifth  Avenue  — 

352 


AN   EARLY  SOCIABLE  S58 

at  that  time  one  of  the  most  talked  about,  if  not  actually 
one  of  the  wickedest  places  on  the  continent  —  and,  in  the 
capacity  of  "night  reporter,"  was  about  to  return  to  my 
duties  in  the  nether  world,  when  the  city  editor,  making 
ready  to  leave  the  office,  turned  with  the  query,  "Can  you 
spare  the  time  to  run  down  to  Mayor  Rice's  house?  I  am 
told  his  eldest  daughter  [one  of  five,  all  of  whom 
subsequently  married  prominent  Chicagoans]  is  giving  a 
party.  I  would  n't  trouble  you,  but  all  the  rest  of  the! 
fellows  are  gone  for  the  night." 

FIRST  ATTEMPT  AT   SOCIETY   REPOETING   IN    CHICAGO 

Hardened  as  I  was  to  "doing"  all  manner  of  "func- 
tions" then  a  la  mode  —  especially  of  the  sort  that  were 
later  passed  upon  by  a  police  magistrate  —  this  request 
fairly  took  me  off  my  feet,  and  I  could  only  gasp,  "What 
kind  of  a  report  do  you  want?" 

"Oh,  mention  the  decorations  if  there  are  any,  describe 
some  of  the  most  picturesque  toilettes,  but  above  all  get  a 
list  of  those  present." 

I  laughed  outright,  for  I  felt  certain  that  my  superior 
was  having  a  bit  of  fun  with  me;  but  to  my  dismay  dis- 
covered that  he  was  in  dead  earnest,  for  he  added,  "Mr. 
Storey  wants  things  of  this  sort  written  up  hereafter  — 
wants  more  attention  paid  to  society  matters,  as  some  of 
the  papers  do  in  New  York  —  and  as  this  is  the  first 
opportunity  we  Ve  had  since  he  spoke  to  me,  I  wish  you 
would  make  all  you  can  of  it." 

BUDS   AND   BETJ.es  OF  LONG  AGO 

It  was  a  genial,  moonlight  night,  as,  in  a  dubious  state 
of  mind,  I  sallied  forth.  As  I  approached  the  Wabash 
Avenue  residence   (on  the  northwest  corner  of  Adams, 


354  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

as  I  recall  it)  the  wide  veranda  was  fairly  alive  with  the 
city's  hudding  beauty,  while  many  more,  equally  ready 
to  burst  into  radiant  womanhood,  filled  the  brilliantly 
lighted  parlors.  I  trust  the  gentle  reader  will  credit  me 
with  presenting  the  vision  in  approved  society  reportorial 
style.  Besides,  it  should  be  remembered  that  the  writer 
viewed  the  scene  with  the  eyes  of  imaginative  youth;  and, 
as  in  these  reminiscences  he  is  pledged  to  reproduce  things 
as  he  saw  them,  nothing  less  rhapsodical  would  at  all 
answer.  But  what  a  contrast  this  picture  to  that  other 
beheld  by  him  an  hour  or  two  before!  Many  of  those 
dragged  ruthlessly  to  prison  were  even  as  these  favored 
maidens  still  young,  and  once  perchance  gave  an  equal 
promise  of  fair  womanhood :  yet  a  few  months  of  "  Under 
the  Willow"  had  sunk  them  to  the  lowermost  depths. 

WHY   THE   WRITE-UP   FAILED 

Taking  a  firm  grip  on  what  courage  there  was  in  me, 
I  approached  the  house  and  rang  the  bell.  Soon  an  ap- 
parition, all  in  white,  stood  before  me  to  inquire  whom  I 
wished  to  see.  "I  desire  to  see  Miss  Rice,"  I  faltered. 
"I  am  Miss  Rice,"  came  pleasantly  from  smiling  lips. 
"What  can  I  do  for  you?" 

"I  represent  the  Times ,  and  have  been  sent  to  make 
a  report  of  your  party." 

"Oh,  no,  no,"  was  her  cry,  full  of  alarm.  "Please 
don't."  Then  with  a  graciousness  that  placed  me  com- 
pletely at  her  mercy,  —  and  how  much  better  this,  than 
if  she  had  curtly  told  me  to  go  about  my  business,  as  some 
in  similar  case  are  foolish  enough  to  do,  with  consequences 
that  one  can  readily  imagine,  —  "Why,  it  is  only  a  gather- 
ing of  a  few  of  our  friends,  just  girls,  you  know,  and  the 
affair  is  n't  in  the  least  worth  mentioning." 


-Jt-^— ^ 


AN  EARLY  SOCIABLE  855 

"But,"  I  made  bold  to  say,  for  I  must  needs  save  my 
face  somehow,  "  anything  promoted  socially  by  a  daughter 
of  the  mayor  is,  in  a  way,  of  interest,  and  a  public  affair." 
"Ah,  that 's  just  it,"  was  her  reply,  with  a  manner  even 
more  captivating.  "If  I  were  not  the  mayor's  daughter 
it  would  not  matter  so  much.  But  you  see,  I  have  invited 
only  friends  from  the  neighborhood.  It  means  nothing 
now,  but  should  anything  get  into  the  papers  about  it,  it 
will  make  no  end  of  trouble,  for  then  people  will  think 
it  was  really  important,  and  some  would  surely  feel 
slighted,  don't  you  see?  Oh,  I  am  sure  you  won't  say 
anything  about  it,  will  you  now?"  and  there  was  a  sug- 
gestion of  tears  in  her  voice,  if  not  in  her  persuading  eyes. 

Now  what  was  a  fellow  in  my  situation  to  do?  Stern 
Duty  on  one  side,  a  Pleading  Vision  on  the  other.  How- 
ever, between  ourselves,  this  susceptible  youth  was  more 
than  half  willing  to  be  out  of  it  all  on  any  reasonable 
excuse,  for  even  with  the  gracious  lady's  cooperation  — 
which  was,  of  course,  out  of  the  question  —  he  would  have 
felt  as  one  might  who  has  drawn  an  elephant,  and  is  at  a 
loss  at  which  end  to  tackle  his  prize;  for  in  those  days 
journalism  was  still  so  ridiculously  in  durance  to  verisi- 
militude that  the  reportorial  imagination  generally  de- 
manded at  least  a  few  facts  to  start  with.  Accordingly, 
pleading  maidenhood  easily  won  the  day. 

AN   IMPROMPTU   SERENADE 

Then,  as  with  many  thanks  and  a  beautiful  white  rose 
for  his  reward,  this  chronicler  regained  the  open,  he  was 
arrested  by  what  in  all  these  more  than  forty  following 
years  has  seldom  failed  to  recall  itself  along  with  any 
thought  of  Wabash  Avenue  —  a  vision  of  a  summer's 
night,  wherein  tree-bordered  vistas  lie  bathed  in  softest 


356  BYGONE   DAYS  IN   CHICAGO 

moonlight,  the  air  is  tremulous  with  reverberating  song, 
and  all  the  near  spaces  are  haunted  of  sylphs  and  houris  — 
or  whatever  bevies  of  joy-breathing  "buds"  stood  for  in 
the  vernacular  of  a  rather  impressionable  young  man  in 
nascent  Chicago. 

Wabash  Avenue  residences,  in  this  ante-fire  period, 
generally  stood  back  of  the  street  line  some  distance,  and 
I  had  not  yet  reached  the  gate,  when  a  glorious  baritone, 
vibrant  with  natural  fervor,  broke  in  upon  the  silent  night 
with  a  startling  challenge.  It  was  still  blocks  away  to 
the  north,  and  as  it  slowly  drew  nearer,  the  rhythmic 
cadences  were  frequently  punctuated  by  sounds  that  be- 
tokened that  the  avenue  was  awakened  with  the  progress 
of  the  singer.  Coming  nearer,  the  voice  swelled  ever  more 
in  volume,  accompanied  by  a  maiden  chorus  from  the 
crowded  veranda  of  "Oh,  listen,  isn't  it  glorious!" 
Gradually  it  was  made  out  that  the  voice  belonged  to  a 
strapping  troubadour,  who  sat  sidewise  on  the  unsaddled 
back  of  a  ponderous  Percheron,  going  at  a  most  leisurely 
pace.  Beauty  vied  with  beauty  in  applause  as  he  passed; 
and  still  he  sang,  on  and  on,  as  from  an  overcharged  soul, 
until  fainter  and  fainter  the  last  notes  were  lost  in  the 
farthest  distance. 

"marching  through  Georgia" 

Then  there  arose  on  the  veranda  a  chorus  of  inquiry 
as  to  the  song,  but  no  one  seemed  able  to  make  answer. 
In  after  years,  it  is  said,  "Old  Tecumseh,"  in  desperate 
self-defence,  frequently  made  it  a  condition  in  the  accept- 
ance of  an  invitation  to  do  him  honor,  that  "Marching 
through  Georgia"  be  omitted  from  the  programme.  Many 
people,  without  giving  thought  to  the  fact  that  this  lyric 
celebrates  one  of  the  closing  events  of  the  war,  imagine 


AN  EARLY  SOCIABLE  M7 

that  this  aftermath  paean  of  victory  was  one  of  the  songs 
that  cheered  the  men  for  the  Union  in  the  field;  whereas 
it  came  to  general  notice  in  the  subsequent  piping  times 
of  peace  through  the  favor  it  found  at  Grand  Army 
**camp  fires."  However,  whatever  its  loss  through  too 
much  repetition,  when  sung  as  a  premiere  by  so  rich  and 
full-throated  a  singer  as  our  serenader,  on  a  moonlight 
night,  and  in  such  company,  it  possessed  a  power  to  move, 
which,  for  this  chronicler  at  least,  has  since  been  hardly 
surpassed  by  a  passion-laden  Wagner  crescendo. 

NOW   HONORED  GRANDMOTHEES 

And  that  galaxy  of  maidenhood!  An  oldish  codger 
cannot  help  wondering  if  any  of  the  stately  dames  of  the 
Chicago  of  to-day  —  its  honored  grandmothers,  of  a 
verity  —  by  any  chance,  and  mayhap  because  of  the  epi- 
sode of  the  song,  recall  this  party  of  the  mayor's  eldest 
daughter? 

In  place  of  the  *'8oirSe"  —  all  sorts  of  latter-time 
"functions"  were  decked  out  in  French  finery  in  those 
unleavened  days  —  there  appeared  in  the  Times  a  rhap- 
sody on  the  midnight  singer,  but  with  all  allusion  to  his 
fair  auditors  carefully  omitted.  And  few  happenings 
could  throw  a  more  informing  side-light  on  the  provincial 
character  of  the  Chicago  of  that  day,  than  the  fact  that 
such  a  "disturbance"  could  go  unheeded  of  the  "copper 
on  the  beat." 

APPARITION   OF   THE  DREADED   "  SCOOP " 

It  was  well  for  Miss  Rice's  peace  of  mind  that  her 
"party"  did  not  happen  a  few  months  later,  for  any  ex- 
hibition of  reportorial  gallantry,  such  as  was  on  that 
occasion  permitted  this  scribe  at  small  risk  to  himself. 


358  BYGONE   DAYS  IN   CHICAGO 

would  then  have  involved  consequences  fairly  inhibitive. 
Not  only  did  Mr.  Storey's  edict  to  have  "things  of  that 
sort  written  up  for  all  they  were  worth,"  go  into  full  force, 
but  other  papers  were  quick  to  follow  the  lead  of  the 
Times;  and  so  the  reporter  would  inevitably  have  had 
before  his  distorted  vision  the  baleful  spectre  of  the 
dreaded  "scoop,"  an  apparition  before  which  much  repor- 
torial  impedimenta  of  a  saving  grace  has  unhappily  fallen 
by  the  way. 


I 


A  HARDSCRABBLE  ROMANCE 

An    Historic    Episode    of    the    "No    Bottom!"    Period  —  Hard- 

scrabble  seen   from   the   court   house   cupola legendary 

Vagueness  as  to  Locale  —  Historic  Precedent  —  Chicago 
Chronicles  Completed  —  Cataclysmic  Catastrophe  Over- 
whelms the  Hapless  Heroine  —  Advent  of  the  Indomitable 
Hero  —  Reckless  Rescue  from  a  Worse  than  Watery  Grave 
—  A  Romance  Redolent  of  the  Soil,  Rich  in  Local  Color  — 
Dramatic    Denouement  —  Happy    Hardscrabble    Honeymoon. 

HARDSCRABBLE,"  as  a  term  indicative  of 
human  abodes,  had  a  fascination  for  me  from  the 
moment  I  heard  it  mentioned,  which  was  almost 
immediately  on  my  arrival  in  Chicago,  although  at  the 
time  nothing  was  further  from  my  thought  than  to  suspect 
that  it  once  played  a  part  in  a  most  fascinating  romance 
—  perhaps  the  earliest  of  record,  as  it  is  certainly  the  most 
characteristic,  in  the  annals  of  Chicago. 

In  1862  this  mellifluous  appellation  was  still  in  com- 
mon use  as  indicative  of  a  "locality,"  though  exceedingly 
hazy  and  elusive  as  to  boundaries.  "Over  there  is  Hard- 
scrabble," quoth  a  volunteer  informant  (whom  I  met  by 
chance  on  the  balcony  of  the  old  Court  House  cupola, 
on  the  occasion  of  my  first  ascent)  as  from  the  vantage 
of  our  overlook  he  included  in  his  gesture  most  of  the  un- 
inhabited region  between  the  then  Southwestern  plank 
road  (now  Ogden  Avenue)  and  the  Archer  Road.  How- 
ever, while  his  outstretched  arm,  as  if  it  were  a  divining 
rod,  halted  waveringly  at  different  points  in  the  arc,  it 
seemed  to  hold  most  convincingly  to  the  region  round- 
about West  Twentieth  Street  and  the  river. 

359 


S60  BYGONE   DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

LEGENDARY   VAGUENESS   AS   TO   LOCALE 

In  the  interest  of  geographical  exactness  —  though 
equally  because  moved  thereto  by  the  glamour  of  romance 
—  I  have  consulted  many  putative  authorities,  and  inter- 
viewed no  end  of  "old  settlers"  (in  days  when  there  was 
still  one  of  some  sort  in  the  jacket  of  every  other  man 
you  met),  but  to  little  purpose.  Most  of  them  would 
repeat  the  fluent  descriptive  with  an  air  reminiscent  of 
knowing  all  about  it;  but  when  it  came  to  a  question  of 
latitude  and  longitude,  of  metes  and  bounds,  they  imme- 
diately lost  themselves  in  generalities.  "It 's  like  this,  you 
see,"  they  would  explain.  "There  were  only  a  few  cabins 
and  an  old  tavern  there;  and  when  the  last  disappeared 
as  a  landmark,  there  was  n't  much  left  but  prairie ;  and  so 
when  we  say  'out  Hardscrabble  way'  we  just  mean  any- 
where for  a  mile  or  two  around." 

Students  of  history  need  not  be  told  that  most  of  the 
famous  places  of  the  world  have  intertwined  with  their 
more  or  less  legendary  origins  some  episode  of  stirring 
romance,  savoring  of  the  time  and  soil,  and  rich  with  local 
color. 

Therefore,  because  Chicago  is  now  almost  second  to 
no  city  that  ever  was,  it  seems  not  only  fitting,  but  quite 
essential  to  a  complete  ensemble ^  that  it  be  able  to  show 
somewhat  in  the  same  line;  and  with  such  intent,  this 
chronicler,  with  what  he  trusts  is  becoming  modesty, 
would  submit  for  time's  unerring  verdict  an  episode 
which,  in  his  humble  opinion,  meets  every  requirement  for 
historic  approbation. 

CATACLYSMAL    CATASTEOPHE    OVERWHELMS    THE    HAPLESS 

HEROINE 

Our  incident  dates  back  to  the  earliest  days  of  "no 
bottom"  signs.    One  of  the  belles  of  the  period,  most  fair 


By  Courtesy  of  llio  Cliicago  Historical  Societ)' 


OLD  BUILDING  OF  THE  FIRST  BAPTIST  CHURCH 

Xow  Used  by  Second  Baptist  Churc-li 


By  Courtesy  of  the  Chioago  Historical  Sotioty 

ST.   PAUL'S  UNIVRRSALIST  CHURCH 


A  HARDSCRABBLE  ROMANCE  861 

to  look  upon,  was  daintily  tip-toeing  her  way  over  some 
wobbly  planks  thrown  haphazard  across  Lake  Street, 
when  by  mischance  she  lost  her  footing.  To  what  fate 
such  a  catastrophe  might  lead  only  those  could  realize  who 
shudderingly  recalled  other  like  cataclysms  thereabout. 
From  all  sides  rose  cries  o(f  consternation.  Many  were 
rooted  where  they  stood ;  others  vainly  sought  for  courage 
with  which  to  fly  to  the  rescue ;  while  some  even  moved  to 
improvise  a  derrick. 

EECKLESS   RESCUE   FROM    A    WORSE   THAN    WATERY    GRAVE 

However,  all  this  good-intentioned  much-ado  had  no 
needed  help  in  it,  and  the  hapless  maiden  would  surely 
have  met  a  fate  it  appals  one  to  contemplate,  had  it  not 
been  for  the  bold  initiative  of  a  young  man  only  just  ar- 
rived in  town,  and  who  as  yet  knew  not  why  catastrophes 
like  this  paralyzed  the  brain  and  leadened  the  feet  of  old 
settlers. 

No,  happily  the  caution  of  the  prudent  was  not  yet  his ; 
and  so,  with  that  utter  disregard  of  consequences  to  store- 
clothes  that  ever  marks  the  true  hero  in  great  emergencies, 
he  rushed  headlong  over  the  wobbling  planks,  grasped 
the  maiden  by  such  impedimenta  as  he  could  most  readily 
lay  hold  of,  and  successfully  restored  her  to  ttrra  firma  and 
the  arms  of  her  friends:  but  not,  it  is  pleasant  to  add, 
before  the  chivalrous  youth  had  escorted  his  deeply  blush- 
ing prize  to  a  near-by  pump  and  assisted  in  reheving  her 
of  some  unnecessary  portions  of  communal  real  estate. 

Now,  I  fearlessly  submit,  could  the  imagination  con- 
ceive a  situation  more  characteristic  of  nascent  Chicago  — 
more  redolent  of  its  soil,  more  rich  in  depths  of  local  color 
(the  precise  shade  in  the  original  Lake  Street  I  have  un- 
fortunately been  unable  to  ascertain),  in  short,  more  typi- 
cal as  a  genetic  romance,  to  be  bound  up  for  all  time  with 


362  BYGONE  DAYS  IN   CHICAGO 

those  other  transactions  in  real  estate  that  so  distinguish 
the  early  annals  of  the  future  "greatest"  —  than  this 
epoch-marking  episode. 

HAPPY  DENOUEMENT 

And  when  to  other  grounds  that  give  this  romance  a 
warranty  to  high  distinction,  there  is  added  a  train  of  sub- 
sequent events  the  outcome  of  which  every  fair  reader  with 
the  intuition  of  her  sex  will  have  already  divined  —  begin- 
ning with  other  chance  meetings  (happily  under  less 
strenuous  conditions),  soon  followed  by  the  regulation 
nimiber  of  Sunday  night  "sittings  up,"  and  the  whole  cul- 
minating with  the  Rev.  Jeremiah  Porter's  blessing,  — 
surely  nothing  more  should  be  required  to  line  up  this 
episode  with  those  indissolubly  associated  with  the  great 
cities  of  the  past,  and  immortalized  in  classic  story. 

And  now,  at  last,  we  arrive  where  "Hardscrabble" 
hurtles  into  our  romance;  for  it  was  to  this  euphonious 
locality,  according  to  a  veracious  chronicler  of  the  period, 
that  the  young  people  repaired  to  spend  their  honeymoon. 

But  why,  I  have  asked  myself  times  out  of  mind,  did 
these  happy  folk,  of  all  places,  choose  "Hardscrabble"  in 
which  to  exhale  their  bliss?  It  could  hardly  have  been 
because  of  any  special  remoteness  "from  the  madding 
crowd,"  because  almost  anywhere  about  Chicago  in  those 
days  would  have  served  such  a  purpose  equally  well.  No, 
I  rather  incline  to  the  opinion  that  the  reason  for  the 
choice  was  in  some  subtle  manner  associated  with  the  name, 
as  bringing  up  a  vision  of  their  first  meeting. 


BY  FROST,  FLOOD,  AND  FIRE 

A  Trio  of  Elemental  Incidents  —  An  Unprecedented  Blizzard  — 
Yet  the  Actor  Bandmann  Beos  for  an  Added  "Frost" — Heroic 
Rescue  of  a  Train — An  Extraordinary  Deluge  —  The  River 
a  Raging  Torrent — A  Dare-Devil  Horseback  Adventure — 
A  Most  Veracious  Episode  of  the  Great  Fire — Its  "Warping" 
Effect  on  Genial  Isaac  Spear — The  End  of  the  Book. 

THE  thirtieth  of  December,  1863,  recalls  itself  vividly. 
There  was  a  terrific  blizzard  that  piled  the  snow 
in  almost  impassable  drifts,  while  the  thermometer 
registered  thirty-four  degrees  below  zero  —  probably  the 
lowest  temperature  in  the  city's  record. 

One  notable  incident  connected  with  the  storm  was  the 
stalling  of  a  Michigan  Central  passenger  train,  a  few 
miles  south  of  Hyde  Park  station  —  a  locality  then  still 
a  wilderness,  though  to-day  a  populous  part  of  the  city. 
The  train  was  literally  snowed  out  of  sight,  and  two  brave 
fellows  —  apparently  facing  certain  death  in  what,  hap- 
pily, proved  a  successful  effort  to  inform  the  outside  world 
of  the  train's  whereabouts,  and  the  distressing  plight  of 
its  captive  occupants  —  were  the  heroes  of  the  hour. 

It  was  known  to  the  railway  people  that  a  train  was 
shut  in,  somewhere  between  Michigan  City  and  Hyde 
Park,  and  they  had  been  fully  alive  to  the  necessity  of 
effecting  a  rescue;  but  it  was  not  until  these  men,  more 
dead  than  alive,  made  their  appearance  at  the  Hyde 
Park  station,  twenty-four  hours  after  the  train  was  "lost," 
that  intelligent  direction  could  be  given  to  measures  of 
relief;  and  even  then,  another  twenty-four  hours  elapsed 

363 


364  BYGONE  DAYS  IN   CHICAGO 

before  a  rescuing  party,  duly  provisioned,  succeeded  in 
literally  digging  its  way  to  the  storm-beleaguered  sufferers. 
The  train  was  crowded  with  people  who  had  looked  for- 
ward to  spending  New  Year's  Day  in  Chicago  —  per- 
chance in  the  bosom  of  their  families  or  with  friends  —  and 
not  only  was  this  privilege  denied  them,  but  it  actually  be- 
came a  question  whether  they  could  be  reached  in  time  to 
save  their  lives,  for  as  long  as  the  blizzard  continued  at  top 
blast,  all  means  to  helpfulness  were  paralyzed. 

TUMULTUOUS   APPLAUSE PLEA   FOR   A   "  FROST " 

The  storm  had  set  in  about  dusk.  At  first  its  increase 
was  gradual,  but,  with  the  advance  of  night,  it  rose  to 
ever  greater  heights,  and  doubled  and  redoubled  its  fury. 
Sometime  before  eight  o'clock,  as  I  made  my  way  to 
McVicker's  Theatre,  the  state  of  things  was  even  then  de- 
cidedly disagreeable.  Daniel  Bandmann  was  filling  his 
first  Chicago  engagement.  The  play  was  "Narcisse,"  in 
which  he  had  made  quite  a  hit;  and,  in  spite  of  untoward 
weather,  he  faced  a  goodly-sized  audience,  which,  as  the 
play  proceeded,  became  more  and  more  demonstrative. 
Under  other  circimistances,  Mr.  Bandmann  would  un- 
doubtedly have  bowed  his  most  gracious  and  grateful  ac- 
knowledgment, but  it  was  only  too  obvious  that  the 
applause,  which  became  ever  more  frequent,  continuous, 
and  vociferous,  arose  from  other  causes  than  mere  admira- 
tion for  his  art  —  that,  in  short,  it  was  due  to  "cold  feet," 
and  such  numbness  of  body  generally  as  could  be  overcome 
only  by  frequent  and  violent  exercise.  As  the  performance 
drew  its  congealed  length  along,  the  tumult  increased  to 
such  extent  that  the  disturbed  actor,  with  chattering  teeth, 
implored  the  audience  —  though  to  small  avail  —  to  per- 
mit the  play  to  proceed  to  the  earliest  possible  conclusion. 


BY  FROST.  FLOOD,   AND  FIRE  8«5 

It  is  probably  a  unique  instance  in  which  an  actor  actually 
pleaded  with  his  audience  for  a  "frost,"  and  this  on  top  of 
one  already  in  full  blast. 

•  ••••••• 

En  passant:  After  an  interval  of  forty  years,  my  eye 
caught  Bandmann's  name  on  a  New  York  theatre  poster, 
and,  moved  thereto  by  memories  of  the  long  ago,  I  dropped 
in  to  see  him  do  a  "stunt"  in  a  continuous  performance, 
it  being  the  simulated  tipsy  scene  from  "David  Garrick." 
Y;es,  it  was  the  same  Daniel,  made  up  to  look  almost  as 
young  as  of  yore,  with  accent  unchanged ;  yet  I  could  not 
escape  the  reflection  that  a  wide  and  deep  gulf  of  dis- 
appointed hopes  lay  between  that  blizzard  night  of  his 
buoyant  young  manhood,  and  the  rigors  of  the  unrewarded 
winter  of  his  life.  (His  death  followed  a  few  months 
later.) 


BUCKING   AGAINST   A   DAKOTA   BLIZZARD 

Emerging  from  the  theatre  on  that  eventful  night,  the 
Spartan  band  that  had  held  out  to  the  last  —  fortunately 
for  them  not  a  few  had  taken  earlier  departures  —  found 
itself  in  the  clutches  of  a  terrific  Dakota  blizzard,  impos- 
sible to  face.  The  streets  were  deserted  of  all  things  living, 
save  the  hapless  theatre  throng  so  suddenly  projected  into 
them.  The  mighty  storm  shrieked  his  pitiless  blasts  into 
their  ears,  struck  their  faces  with  a  fierce  vindictiveness,  — 
and  those  who  lived  any  considerable  distance  from  the 
theatre  were  compelled  to  seek  refuge  in  near-by  hotels. 
Only  here  and  there  was  a  dim  light  discernible.  My  lodg- 
ings were  on  Randolph  Street,  near  Franklin,  and  I  was 
a  full  hour  making  the  distance  of  half  a  mile.  It  was  a 
case  of  "bucking"  the  storm  all  the  way;  and,  as  it  was 


366  BYGONE   DAYS  IN   CHICAGO 

impossible  to  face  the  icy  particles  that  assailed  you  like 
fine  shot  from  a  blunderbuss,  the  entire  distance  had  to 
be  backed  over,  while  nearly  every  doorway  was  turned 
into  a  temporary  hospice.  I  should  have  made  my  way 
on  Dearborn,  as  far  north  as  Randolph  Street,  but  unfor- 
tunately turned  west  on  Washington,  and  thus  laid  myself 
open  to  the  charges  that  gathered  double  and  treble 
strength  in  the  open  Court  House  Square,  and  seemed 
to  shoot  directly  down  from  the  embattled  dome  —  for 
once,  literally,  the  city's  "storm-centre."  Never  shall  I 
forget  the  effort  it  cost  to  make  that  one  block  to  Ran- 
dolph Street.  Of  what  use  were  doorways  here?  Indeed, 
many  were  buried  out  of  sight  by  huge  snow-drifts,  and 
all  were  fully  exposed  to  the  blast.  No,  the  entire  dis- 
tance had  to  be  fought  without  a  break,  and  when,  finally, 
I  reached  the  Sherman  House  comer,  it  was  as  one  beaten 
to  a  complete  standstill.  The  scene  within  was  one  of 
extraordinary  animation.  Scores  were  clamoring  for 
rooms  that  could  not  be  provided.  "Ladies  first,"  was 
the  order;  wives  were  unceremoniously  separated  from 
their  lords,  and  the  latter  were  lucky  if  they  secured  a 
"shakedown"  anjrwhere.  There  was  the  same  state  of 
things  when  I  got  to  the  Briggs  House  on  my  westward 
struggle;  also  at  the  Metropolitan  Hotel  opposite,  and 
at  the  New  York  House  beyond.  Everywhere  people 
were  clamoring  for  refuge.  All  cars  had  stopped  running 
hours  before ;  and,  besides  the  theatre  crowd,  scores  of  busi- 
ness men  who  had  lingered  downtown  until  they  found  all 
means  for  getting  home  suddenly  cut  off,  helped  to  swell 
the  hapless  throng. 

When  finally  arrived  at  my  goal,  I  found  the  entire 
Bohemian  tribe  that  made  up  the  boarding-house  contin- 
gent huddled  about  the  great  stove  in  the  sitting-room. 


BY  FROST,  FLOOD,  AND  FIRE  8fl7 

afraid  to  invade  the  polar  temperature  of  their  bedrooms, 
with  their  northern  or  western  exposures  —  and  the  rattle 
of  windows,  and  the  fierce  swish  of  ice-shot  against  the 
panes  was  indeed  well  calculated  to  dismay  the  stoutest 
heart.  And  so  we  turned  the  night  into  an  "experience 
meeting." 

A   MIGHTY   DELUGE 

Speaking  of  storms  —  it  is  not  easy  to  imagine  the 
stagnant  Chicago  River  of  the  later  sixties  a  raging  tor- 
rent, yet  such,  for  several  days,  it  was,  when  parts  of  the 
city  barely  escaped  the  fate  of  a  whelming  flood,  only  to 
be,  a  few  years  later,  overtaken  by  fire.  A  heavy,  late 
snowfall  was  followed  by  a  week  of  almost  ceaseless  rain, 
until  the  situation  suggested  experiences  possibly  in  line 
with  those  of  Father  Noah.  The  Desplaines  River  broke 
wildly  over  its  banks,  and  much  of  the  territory  between 
that  stream  and  the  Chicago  River  —  once  known  as  Mud 
Lake,  and  "reclaimed"  by  the  construction  of  the  Illinois 
and  Michigan  Canal  —  was  for  the  nonce  returned  to  its 
pristine  estate.  Indeed,  all  the  region  south  of  Twenty- 
second  Street  of  both  the  south  and  west  divisions  — 
except  the  ridge  marked  by  Cottage  Grove  Avenue  —  pre- 
sented an  almost  unbroken  expanse  of  water,  wherein  the 
Stock  Yards  had  the  appearance  of  a  group  of  islands; 
while  Bridgeport  suggested  a  Happy  Hooligan  Venice, 
with  improvised  rafts  for  gondolas.  Every  packing  and 
slaughter  house  in  that  section  —  most  of  them  fortu- 
nately deserted  because  of  the  recently  established  Stock 
Yards  —  was  well  up  to  its  second  story  in  water,  and 
business  of  every  sort  was  completely  suspended. 

For  a  time  the  entire  local  staffs  of  the  papers  were 
converted  into  "marine"  reporters,  and  a  w^et,  disagree- 
able time  we  had  of  it,  "poling"  about  on  improvised  rafts 


368  BYGONE  DAYS  IN   CHICAGO 

among  the  carcasses  of  animals  —  for  practically  every 
Paddy's  squealer  in  Bridgeport  had  been  transformed  into 
a  vagrant  corpse. 

It  was  during  this  crisis  that  the  lowering  southern 
sky,  of  an  early  evening,  was  lighted  up  to  a  degree  that 
indicated  a  large  fire.  It  was  difficult  to  locate  a  blaze, 
in  those  ante-electric-fire-alarm  days,  especially  on  a 
murky  night.  However,  as  the  experienced  watchman  in 
the  Court  House  dome  sounded  no  alarm,  it  was  evident 
that  the  conflagration  was  outside  the  city  limits,  and  could, 
therefore,  be  only  at  the  Stock  Yards,  the  city's  pride  and 
joy.  As,  in  view  of  the  state  of  the  roads  —  or  rather 
their  entire  disappearance  —  no  fire  engines  could  be  got 
out  there  to  reinforce  the  local  equipment  (entirely  in- 
adequate to  cope  with  a  general  conflagration),  there  was 
danger  that  the  entire  "improvement,"  aggregating  many 
millions  in  value,  might  be  destroyed;  for  no  fire  burns 
more  fiercely  than  one  fed  on  fat  hogs. 

A   DARE-DEVIL  FEAT 

The  Yards  were  accessible  at  this  time  by  a  single  line 
of  steam  cars  only,  and  by  a  dirt  road  running  south  from 
the  Archer  Road,  by  way  of  what  is  now  Halsted  Street. 
From  the  Transit  House  no  information  could  be  had, 
except  that  "everything  seemed  to  be  burning  at  the  west- 
ern end  of  the  Yards."  As  the  evening  drew  on,  the  re- 
flection grew  apace,  and  it  became  plain  that  somehow, 
somebody  for  the  paper  must  get  out  to  the  Stock  Yards. 
As  there  was  no  train  until  near  midnight,  only  one  way 
seemed  at  all  feasible.  It  was  decreed  that  I  mount  a 
horse  —  a  dare-devil  feat,  attempted  but  a  few  times  in 
my  life,  and  then  in  broad  daylight,  on  a  safe  road.  Be- 
sides, let  it  be  recorded  as  a  matter  of  history,  that  a  man 


BY  FROST,  FLOOD,  AND  FIRE  869 

on  horseback  was  an  unwonted  apparition  in  the 
Cliicago  of  that  period;  for  the  saddle-bag  days  were  in 
the  past,  and  riding  for  exercise  or  pleasure  was  still  in 
the  future.  So,  in  a  dubious  state  of  mind,  I  hied  me  to 
Price's  livery  stable,  near  the  site  of  the  later  ill-fated 
Iroquois  Theatre,  where  my  request  for  a  firey  but  tamed 
steed  was  met  with  a  shake  of  the  head  —  and  the  gratuity, 
that,  if  they  had  one,  they  would  n't  let  it  go  on  such  a 
trip.  But  I  finally  did  get  a  raw-boned  affair  —  a  sort  of 
"left-over"  from  a  past  era  —  and  rode  gallantly  into 
the  sky-flamed  night. 

The  streets  were  in  a  terrible  plight,  and  the  only  safe 
footing  was  on  the  State  Street  horse-car  tracks.  On  the 
Archer  Road  the  boating  conditions  were  only  middling; 
but  on  what  was  later  Halsted  Street  it  would  have  been 
*' clear  sailing"  for  any  properly  equipped  navigator.  Ex- 
cept the  distant  conflagration,  there  was  not  a  flicker  of 
light  between  the  Archer  Road  and  the  Stock  Yards. 
Somewhere  there  was  supposed  to  be  a  dirt  road,  but  it 
was  more  than  a  foot  under  water,  and,  on  either  side, 
were  ditches  from  six  to  eight  feet  deep.  My  Rosinante 
exhibited  a  decided  aversion  to  making  trial  of  this  un- 
known sea.  However,  by  dint  of  much  digging  of  heels 
on  my  part,  it  went  rather  gingerly  forward.  There  was 
a  fence  on  either  side  beyond  the  ditch,  and  that,  by  the 
reflection  of  the  fire,  served  as  a  passable  guide.  When, 
however,  we  had  made  about  half  a  mile  of  this  water-way, 
the  fences  suddenly  disappeared;  and  as,  about  the  same 
time,  the  fire  had  died  down  to  a  mere  flicker,  my  steed 
came  to  the  conclusion  it  would  stop  the  foolishness,  and 
turned  squarely  about. 

Because  my  whilom  profession  —  through  a  flood  of 
*'best  sellers"  —  has,  in  these  days,  become  a  very  synonym 


370  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

for  invincible  courage  (with  a  princess  attachment  as  re- 
ward), I  devoutly  pray  that  no  gentle  reader  will  take 
stock  in  the  "nature  fakir"  theory  that  a  horse  knows 
"intuitively"  the  state  of  mind  of  its  rider.  Perish  the 
inference  I  However,  as  I  had  neither  whip  nor  spur,  mere 
valor  stood  no  chance,  opposed  to  unimpeachable  horse 
sense;  and  furthermore,  as  all  threatenings  of  a  general 
porcine  holocaust  had  disappeared,  I  reluctantly  gave  the 
craven  beast  his  "head"  —  where  his  tail  should  have  been. 
Appearances  aside,  this  was  well,  for  the  "conflagration" 
turned  out  to  have  been  confined  to  a  lot  of  tumble-down 
sheds  of  an  earher  settlement,  that  were  probably  set  on 
fire  to  get  them  out  of  the  way. 

A  EOARING  RIVER 

Any  sort  of  current  in  the  river  was  in  those  days  a 
startling  phenomenon.  Therefore,  to  see  it  scooting 
along,  at  ever  so  many  miles  an  hour,  had  something  un- 
canny about  it  —  as  if  the  dead  had  come  to  life.  It  actu- 
ally "roared,"  so  that  in  the  silence  of  the  night  one  could 
hear  it  a  block  away ;  and  as  it  was  everywhere  bank-high. 
South  Water  Street,  after  the  flood,  had  a  line  of  cellars 
to  pump  out.  The  surface  of  the  river  presented  a  hurt- 
ling, swirling  mass  of  oddly  mixed  flotsam  and  jetsam.  All 
manner  of  slaughtering  paraphernalia  made  a  part  of  the 
crush.  An  entire  "incline"  —  along  which  hogs  had  been 
driven  to  an  upper  floor  —  came  bulging  along,  tearing 
small  craft  from  their  moorings,  and  seriously  endangering 
the  bridge  piers;  while  a  rakish  procession  of  Bridgeport 
outhouses  made  their  way  exuberantly  to  the  lake.  The 
chief  source  of  apprehension  was  that  the  foundations  of 
grain  elevators  would  be  undermined;  and,  in  one  instance, 
a  catastrophe  was  narrowly  averted. 


BY  FROST,   FIRE,  AND  FLOOD  871 

In  these  days,  whenever  I  am  asked  what  I  find  in  the 
Chicago  of  the  present  most  in  contrast  with  the  past,  I 
invariably  point  to  the  phenomenon  presented  by  its  river. 
Not  only  does  the  stream  that  once  wriggled  its  oozy 
length  towards  the  lake,  now  by  grace  of  a  $30,000,000 
drainage  canal,  seemingly  defy  the  law  of  gravitation 
by  flowing  in  swirling  eddies  "upstream,"  but  among  all 
the  rivers,  on  the  banks  of  which  historic  cities  have  had 
their  rise  —  the  Tiber  or  Arno,  the  Thames  or  Seine,  the 
Danube  or  Neva  —  none  equals  in  perennial  clearness  the 
freighted  course  that  draws  its  heaven-blue  tide  directly 
from  the  ample  bosom  of  Lake  Michigan:  a  perpetual 
miracle,  and  Chicago's  first  great  step  towards  the  inevit- 
able "  City  Beautiful." 

WARPED  BY  THE  GREAT  FIRE 

Thousands  will  recall  genial  Isaac  Spear,  Chicago's 
pioneer  watchmaker,  for  he  outlived  most  of  his  contempo- 
raries. Now  Isaac  was  quite  diminutive,  and  withal  so 
abnormally  bandy-legged  as  to  attract  ready  attention. 
He  was  in  the  midst  of  the  great  conflagration,  of  course, 
and,  at  one  time  —  according  to  the  story  —  became  so 
absorbed  in  the  catastrophe  that  he  stood  at  a  point  of 
imminent  danger  as  one  transfixed.  A  kindly  newsboy, 
alarmed  at  the  situation,  rushed  gallantly  forward,  and 
tapping  Isaac  on  the  shoulder,  shouted  above  the  din  and 
roar  of  the  on-rushing  elements,  "  Say,  Mister,  if  you  don't 
come  away  you'll  burn."  The  caution  not  having  had  the 
desired  effect,  the  youngster  dashed  to  the  rescue  a  second 
time,  again  gave  anxious  warning,  and  still  Isaac  remained 
rooted.  On  returning  to  a  safe  position,  the  would-be 
rescuer  noticed  to  his  horror  the  little  man's  peculiar  de- 
formity.    Screening  his  face  from  the  scorching  blast. 


872  BYGONE  DAYS  IN  CHICAGO 

he  once  more  charged  the  consuming  heat,  and,  while 
literally  dragging  his  quarry  to  a  place  of  safety, 
shrieked  in  his  ear,  "For  God's  sake,  come  away,  you're 
warping!" 

Mr.  Spear  was  so  fond  of  a  good  story  as  to  be  even 
willing  that  it  should  be  at  his  own  expense ;  and  when,  by 
chance,  in  after  years,  the  talk  turned  on  the  warping  effect 
of  the  great  conflagration,  —  and  there  happened  to  be 
guileless  strangers  about,  —  he  was  wont  to  cite  himself 
as  a  startling  example,  solemnly  contending  that  before 
the  fire  he  was  as  straight  as  an  Oregon  pine. 

These  three  "Gesta  Chicagorimi"  bring  our  annals 
to  a  close.  The  Arctic  narrative,  so  suggestive  of  North 
Pole  experiences,  has  an  obvious  timeliness;  and,  in  view 
of  what  gay  Paris  has  so  recently  undergone,  has  the 
valorous  flood  incident;  while  the  closing  episode,  so  in- 
stinct with  Spartan  fortitude  and  an  invincible  veracity, 
may  well  serve  to  spur  the  present  generation  to  stoutly 
resolve  that  their  own  hazards  shall  in  nowise  suffer  in 
comparison  with  those  that  shed  such  lustre  on  "Bygone 
Days  in  Chicago." 


THE  END 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Aberdeen  Street,  180 

Abolitionism.  Sec  ttrwier  Civil  War  (polit- 
ical strife) 

Abolitionists,  31 

Actors,  German,  101;  tragedians,  246, 
247;    comedians,  249,  250 

Adams,  Cyrus  C,  reporter  and  corre- 
spondent of  Times,  336,  337 

Adams  House,  194 

Adams  Street,  180,  181 

Adjutant-General  of  Illinois,  27,  28,  44 

Adsit,  Alanson  and  James  M.,  164 

Agnew,  Sheriff-elect,  271 

Akin,  E.,  29 

Aiken's  Museum,  245 

Albany  Army  Relief  Bazaar,  110,  note 

Allatoona  P&ss,  216 

Allen,  "Fog  Horn"  Bill,  81 

Allerton,  S.  W.,  108 

Alton,  Illinois,  21,  22 

Alton  Observer,  {The),  68 

Ambrose  &  Jackson  (colored),  caterers, 
175 

"America,"  2 

American  Ecorumiist,  330 

American  Express  Company  robbery,  255 

American  Fur  Company,  Gurdon  S. 
Hubbard's  connection  with,  201 

American  Geographical  Society  "Bulle- 
tin," 336 

American  physical  standard,  69 

American  Press  Association,  336 

Ammen,  Gren.,  42 

Amusement  halls,  scarcity  of,  266;  after 
fire,  312 

Amusements  in  the  early  sixties,  132; 
early,  243-250.  See  also  Theatres,  etc. 

Anderson,  Col.  Ben,  48 

"Anderson's,"  a  restaurant,  175 

Andersonville,  Camp  Douglas  compared 
with  39 

Andrews,'  Mrs.  C.  W.,  106 

Anti-Slavery  Convention  in  Cincinnati,  68 

Archer  Avenue  and  Road,  10,  179-181, 
359,  368,  369 

Architecture,  173-179.  See  also  Brick, 
Frame,  Marble,  Stone 

Aristocrat  of  the  early  sixties,  343 

Arlington,   minstrel  performer,   245 


Armory  Station  Police  Court,  149, 151,253 
Army  of  Georgia,  216 
of  the  Cumberland,  212,  216 
of  the  Tennessee,  212,  216 
Reunion  of  1868,  211 
Arnold,  Isaac  N.,  as  a  war  orator,  3; 

speaker  on   suppression   of    Times, 

55;  presented  watch  to  Lincoln,  110; 

arrival  in  the  thirties,  164;  residence 

on  North  Side,  178;  "Mejum"  No. 

2  in  Lincoln  "Seance,"  323-329 
Arnolds,  the  342 
Arrington,  A.  W.,  55 
Art    and     artists:     Whistler's     ancestry 

closely  associated  with  Chicago,  170; 

early  art  in  Chicago,  240-243 
Asay,  E.  G.,  4,  54 
Associated  Press,  175,  335 
Astor  House  in  New  York,  195 
Atkinson,  Gfeneral,  202 
Atmosphere,  clearness  of,  177 
Atwood,  Charles,  335 
Auditorium  building,  196,  341 
Auditorium  tower,  177 
Aurora,  111.,  122 
Ayer,  Benjamin  F.,  3,  4,  168 

Babcock,  Miss  Jane  A.,  nurse  in  Civil 
War,  105 
Miss  Mary  E.,  army  nurse,  105 

Balatka,  Hans,  10 

Baldwin,  "Lucky,"  154 

Ballard,  Addison,  166 

Ballast,  citizens  who  served  as,  284 

Ballet  dancing,  247-249 

Ballin^all,  Patrick,  186 

Balls,  m  Metropolitan  Hall,  176 

Bandman,  Darnel,  247,  364,  365 

Banks  and  banking,  Greorge  Smith 
prominent  in  Western,  166;  Lake  St. 
centre  of,  183;  grouped  about  Board 
of  Trade,  185;  Randolph  St.  forms 
a  "centre,"  186;  failures  after  panic 
of  1873,  257;  W.  F.  Coolbaugh's 
connection  with,  297-300.  See  also 
First  National,  Union  National,  etc. 

Baptist  Church  in  Chicago.  See  First 
Baptist  Church,  Second  Baptist 
Chiu*ch,  etc. 


375 


S76 


INDEX 


Baptist  University.  See  Chicago  Uni- 
versity. 

Barnum's  circus,  268 

Barracks  (temporary).  See  Camp  Doug- 
las (temporary  barracks) 

Barrett,  Lavrrence,  247 

Bartow,  Mary  A.  Wright,  242 

Bascomb,  Rev.  L.  F.,  extreme  Abolition- 
ist, 64 

Baseball  on  Lake  Front,  341.  See  also 
Hurlbut,  "Big  Bill" 

Bates,  Eli,  gives  St.  Gaudens'  statue  of 
Lincoln,  97 
George  C.,  3 

Batteries,  independent,  29 

"Battle-Cry  of  Freedom,"  first  sung  in 
Chicago,  2;  at  Republican  rallies, 
85 ;  written  by  Root  and  sung  by  the 
Lumbards,  120,  121 

Bauer,  Julius,  pianos,  175 

"Beats,"  equivalent  for  "Scoops,"  251 

"Beau   Hackett."     See   Bowman,    — 

Beaubien,  A.  M.,  army  nurse,  105 
Gen.  Jean  Baptiste,  164 
Madore  B.,  164 

Mark,  arrived  in  1826,  163; 
"Kept  tavern  like  the  devil,"  194; 
occupied  one  of  Chicago's  earliest 
two  nouses,  201;  at  Hubbard  silver 
wedding,  205 

Beckwith,  Judge  Corydon,  member  of 
committee  on  Time*  suppression,  56; 
arrived  in  the  fifties,  167;  entertain- 
ed Douglas,  200 

Beecher,  Henry  Ward,  68 
Jerome,  164 
Mrs.  Jerome,  106 

Beef  first  shipped  from  Chicago  in  1835, 
202 

Beidler,  Jacob,  10,  164 

Belknap,  General,  214,  216,  217 

Best,  William,  167 

Betting  on  races,  155,  156 

Beveridge,  G«n.  John  L.,  Lieut.-Gov., 
292 

Bickerdyke,  Mrs.  Mary  A.  ("Mother"), 
stirred  things  up  in  Chicago,  115; 
outranked  Sherman  in  hospital  mat- 
ters, 116;  at  Mission  Ridge,  Chat- 
tanooga, Atlanta,  etc.,  117 

Bierstadt,  painting  of  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, 110 

Billiard  tournament.  State,  133,  173 

Billiards,  game  played  by  McDievitt  and 
Dion,  176 

Billings,  A.  M.,  168 

"Bishop's  Palace,"  195,  341 


"Black  Abolitionists,"  8 

"Black  Crook,"  played  after  the  war, 
248 

Black  Hawk  War,  202 

Black,  Gen.  John  C,  4 

"Black  Republicans,"  48,  75 

Blackburn,  Mrs.  Morris  a  daughter  of 
Dr.  Luke,  50 

"Blacklegs,"  from  the  South,  128,  129 

Blackstone,  T.  B.,  167 

Blair,  Chauncey  B.,  arrived  in  the  forties, 
166 
General,  214 

Blatchford,  E.  W.,  166 
Mrs.  E.  W.,  106 

"Blind  Tom,"  concert  by,  173 

Blizzard  of  December,  1863,  363  et  aeq. 

Blue  Island  Avenue  and  Road,  10,  180 

Board  of  Trade.  See  Chicago  Board 
of  Trade. 

"Boarders'  Paradise,"  309 

Boarding  houses,  131,  339 

"Bobby,"  origin  of  slang  term,  172 

"Bohemia"  at  "Sunnyside,"  146 

"Bohemian  Girl,"  music  from,  247 

Bohemians,  Old-time,  345 

Bolshaw,  Billy,  of  the  Matteson  House 
Caje,  148,  186 

Bonfanti,  ballet  dancer,  248 

Boniface,  Gage  an  ideal,  300 

Bonney,  C.  C.,  168 

Boone,  Levi  D.,  arrived  in  the  thirties, 
164 

Booth,  Edwin  and  Wilkes,  247 

Boston  Tea  Party,  last  survivor  of,  164 

Botsford,  J.  K.,  164 
Mrs.  J.  K.,  106 

"Bounty  Jumper,"  75,  135,  136 

Bowen  Brothers,  House  of,  285,  286 
Chaimcey,  167 
Erastus,  164 
George  S.,  167 

Col.  James  H.,  member  of  Union 
Defence  Committee,  18;  arrived 
about  1850,  167;  ostensible  pur- 
chaser of  site  for  Pullman,  261 ;  type 
of  the  makers  of  Chicago,  285-288 

Bowman, ("Beau  Hackett"),  writer 

in  the  sixties,  228 
Ariel,  164 

"Boys  that  ran  wid  de  masheen."  See 
Fire  companies. 

Brackett's  Ninth  Illinois  Cavalry,  41 

Bradley,  C.  P.,  164 

Bradwell,  Judge  J.  B.,  as  a  war  orator, 
3;  extreme  Abolitionist,  64;  arrived 
in  the  thirties,  164 


INDEX 


377 


Bradwell.  Myra  A.  (Mrs.  J.  B.),  activity 
for  the  soldiers,  106;  "limb  of  the 
law,"  108 

Bragg,  General,  84,  216 

Brainard,  Dr.  Daniel,  164 

Brand,  Alexander,  164 
Michael,  166 

Brayman,  Mrs.  J.  O.,  106 

Brentano,  Lorenz,  10,  167 

Brick  buildings,  early,  174;  first  business 
structure,  202;  oldest  in  city,  206 

Bridewell,  the,  153 

Bridgeport,  10,  180,  267,  368,  370 

Bridges'  Battery,  29,  236 

Brigadiers  after  the  war,  290 

Briggs  House,  105,  194,  212,  366 

Bright,  Senator,  from  Indiana,  81 

Bristol,  Mrs.  H.  L.,  106 

Brooks,  Frank  H.,  reporter  and  special 
topic  writer  of  Times.  336,  337 
Phillips,  311 

Bross,  William  (Deacon,  later  Lt.-Gov.), 
as  a  presiding  ofiBcer,  3;  member  of 
Second  Presbyterian  Church,  96;  ar- 
rived in  the  forties,  166;  reception 
to  Generals  Grant,  Sherman,  etc., 
220;  residence  in  Terrace  Row,  344 

Brown,  John,  influence  on  emancipation, 
70,71 
William  H.,  164' 

Browne,  Francis  F.,  editor  of  The  Lake- 
side Monthly  and  The  Dial,  239,  240 

Brundage,  Mrs.  D.  M.,  105 

Bryan  Hall,  2,  82,  111,  112,  122,  175,  176 

Bryan,  Thomas  B.,  as  a  presiding  oflBcer 
in  war  time,  3,  4;  member  of  Union 
Defence  Committee,  18;  defeated  for 
office  by  J.  S.  Rumsey,  59;  gave 
for  relief  of  soldiers,  109;  bought 
draft  of  Emancipation  Proclamation, 
109;  manager  of  Sanitary  Fair  of 
1865,  110;  arrived  about  1850,  167 

Bryant  and  Stratton's  Business  College, 
175 

Bryce,  James,  70 

Buchanan  wing  of  Democracy,  332 

Buck  &  Raynor's  drug  store,  l75 

Buderbach,  William,  347 

Building  operations,  173-177,  179-196, 
342,343.  iSeeoZao  "Long  John  tract," 
Pullman,  town  of,  etc. 

Buildings  of  1862,  contrasted  with  those 
of  to-day,  192-196 

Bull's  Head,  181 

Burch  Block,  193,  238 

Burch,  I.  H.,  167 

Burley,  A.  G.,  164 


Burley,  A.  H.,  18,  164 

Burnett  House,  Cincinnati,  194 

Bumham,  Mrs.  M.,  106 

Burnside,  Gen.  Ambrose  E.,  suppression 
of  the  Times,  51-58 

"Bumt-cork  tribe."    See  Minstrels. 

Burr,  C.  Chauncey,  of  New  York,  84 
Jonathan,  166 

Business  centre  of  Chicago.     See  Chi- 
cago 

Business  directory,  I.  D.  Guyer's  His- 
tory, a  sort  of,  232 

"Business,"  interpreted  by  Col.  Haverly, 
155,  156 

Butterfield,  General,  214 

Butz.  Casper,  3,  10 

Byron,  an  unmentionable  poet,  147 

Cairo,  Illinois,  14,  16,  17,  19,  20,  31,  32, 

105 
Caldwell,  William  (The  Sauganash),  164 
Calhoun,  Alvin,  164 

John,  164 
Calumet  Lake  and  Swamp,  260,  286 
Cameron,  Col.,  at  Camp  Douglas,  41 

Secretary  of  War,  105 
Camp  Douglas,  regiments  from,  23;  rebel 

Erisoners    at,     38-49;     (temporary 
arracks),    40,    179;    soldiers   from, 
.seize   Times  office,  53;    conspiracy 
for  release  of  rebel  prisoners  at,  78; 
garrison  replaced  by  volunteers,  95 
Dunne,  40 
Ellsworth,  40 
Fremont,  40 
Fry,  29 
Mather,  40 
Mulligan,  40 
Sigel,  40 
Song,  40 
Webb,  40 
Campbell's  Battery,  29 
"Campbell's"  hair  jewelry,  175 
Canada,  invasion  of,  193 
Canal  Street,  intersection  with  I^ke,  206 
"Cancan"  dancers  from  Paris,  265-268 
Cantrill,  Capt.,  48 
'  'Caramel  contingent,"  246 
Carbondale,  Illinois,  17,  223 
Carpenter,  Benjamin,  166 
Cnicago  artist,  painting  of  "Siting 
of  the  Emancipation  Proclamation," 
110 
Deacon  Philo,  as  an  Abolitionist,  67-69; 
as  a  church  member,  68;  arrived  in 
the  thirties,  164 
Matthew,  3,  5 


378 


INDEX 


Carr,  Capt.,  19 

Carrier  system  introduced  in  1866,  186 

Carter,  T.  B.,  164 

Cartwright,  Peter,  305 

Casey,  Capt.  Peter,  11 

Cass,  Grovernor,  entertained  at  Lake 
House,  195 

Castleman,  Capt.,  48 

Catafalque,  Lincoln's,  113 

Catholic  Church,  as  viewed  by  Grerman 
freethinkers,  102 
hierarchy,  6 

Catholics,  constituted  one-third  of  Chi- 
cago's population,  99 

Caton,  Judge  John  D.,  arrived  in  the 
thirties,  164;  at  Hubbard  silver  wed- 
ding, 205 

Cemetery,  Lincoln  Park  in  part  a,  178 

Centre  Avenue,  181 

Chacksfield,  Greorge,  164 

Chamber  of  Commerce.  See  Chicago 
Chamber,  etc. 

Chamberlin,  Everett,  335 
Joseph  Edgar,  news  editor  and  later 
managing  editor  of  Times,  335;  en- 
dorses character  of  Storey,  337 

Chanfrau's  Mose,  249 

Chapin,  Universalist  minister,  91, 96 

Chapman's  Battery,  29 

Character,  homage  to  Lincoln's,  275; 
demand  for  men  of,  277 

Chattanooga,  Field  Hospital  near,  116 

Chetlain,  Maj.-Gen.  A.  L.,  63 

Chicago,  business  centre  of:  intersection 
of  La  Salle  and  Lake  Streets,  174; 
La  Salle  and  Washington  Streets, 
176;  history  of  location  of,  183-196 
Characteristics  as  a  city:  reputation 
for  ."doing  things,"  18;  birthplace 
of  war  lyrics,  119;  causes  for  great- 
ness, 168-170;  bird's-eye  view,  171- 
182;  dramatic  tastes,  243-250 
climatic  conditions,  260,  363-368 
in  the  "good  old  times,"  272-286 
financial  strength,  298;  successes 
due  to  indigenous  forces,  304;  re- 
sentment against  ostentation,  342; 
present  contrasted  with  past,  371; 
"City  Beautiful,"  371;  as  a  grain, 
lumber,  and  packing  centre,  180; 
Marshall  Field  an  example  of  mer- 
chant-genius of,  187;  Gurdon  S. 
Hubbard  an  epitome  of  qualities 
from  origin,  199;  in  literature  and 
art,  227-242;  lumber  market,  343; 
illustrated  by  "Hardscrabble  ro- 
mance," 361 ;  See  also  special  heads. 


as:  Architecture,  Art  and  artists. 
Boarding  houses.  Business  centre. 
Gamblers  and  Gambling,  Ministers, 
Politics,  Social  evil,  etc. 

City  Hall,  266 

City  limits,  163,  178 

City  Treasurer,  David  A.  Gage  elected, 
302 

Civil  War  in.     See  Civil  War 

Court  House.    See  Court  House 

debt,  229,  230 

Fire  Companies,  133, 157, 158, 177 

History:  roll-call  of  old  settlers,  163- 
168;  growth  of  city  from  Court 
House  Square  as  a  nucleus,  171-182; 
changes  in  business  centre,  183- 
189;  the  city's  iron  age,  192;  the 
city's  marble  age,  193;  Gurdon  S. 
Hubbard  a  maker  of,  197-205; 
Army  Reunion  of  1868,  212;  his- 
torians of  early  period,  229-236; 
growth  of  land  values  illustrated,  281 ; 
completion  of  Union  Pacific  Rail- 
roaci  of  transcendent  importance, 
286;  Lincoln's  funeral,  316-320; 
Kirkland's  "History  of  Chicago," 
334;  "Hand  Book  of  Chicago"  in 
early  sixties,  344;  See  a/«o  Civil  War, 
Fire  of  1871,  Germans,  Irish,  etc.. 
Panic  of  1857,  Settlers  (Old) 

North  Division  or  Side:  German  pop- 
ulation of,  10;  "  'Sunnyside'  now  in 
centre  of,"  144;  one  of  the  most 
fashionable  parts  of  city,  163;  city 
limits  on,  163;  seen  from  Court 
House  dome,  178;  residents  near 
Rush  and  Ontario  Streets,  179; 
building  line  halts  at  North  Avenue, 
181;  most  of  business  originally  on, 
183;  wiped  out  by  fire,  188;  Mc- 
Cormick  reaper  factory  on,  196; 
most  of  city's  business  before  1830  on, 
202;  "North  Side  set,"  exclusive, 
342;   Sec  aZao  "North  Shore  Sands" 

Northwest  Section,  inhabited  by  Ger- 
mans, 10,  100;  practically  unsettled, 
181 

Police,  raid  of  "North  Shore  Sands," 
157-159;  leather  shields  worn  by, 
171;  origin  of  slang  terms  for,  172; 
headquarters  in  O.  F.  W.  Peck 
house,  174,  255;  Hall's  police  court 
sketches,  239;  See  also  Nelson,  Jack 

Politics.    See  Politics 

Population:  distribution  in  1862,  171; 
development  since  1846,  229;  in  1864, 
243;  in  1855,  245 


INDEX 


879 


Chicafifo — continued 
Post  Office,  transformed  into  an  audi- 
torium,  154;    carrier  system  intro- 
duced, 186;  where  now  stands  First 
National  Bank,  195 
Social  affairs:    Party  of  Mayor  Rice's 

daughter.  352-358 
South  Division  or  Side:  a  portion  un- 
tenable for  decent  folk,  158;  the 
business  centre,  171;  seen  from 
Court  House  dome,  177,  178;  salient 
features,  179;  effect  of  fire,  188;  few 
constructions  of  note  in  1862,  195; 
flood  in, 367 
Southwest  region  inhabited  by  Irish, 

10 
Streets:  surrounding  Court  House 
Square,  171-177;  seen  from  Court 
House  dome,  178-182;  muddiness 
of,  361  et  seq. ;  See  also  names  of  in- 
dividual roads  and  streets 
West  Division  or  Side:  seen  from  the 
Court  House  dome,  178;  contained 
more  than  half  the  city's  population, 
188;   flood  in,  367 

Chicago  Avenue,  100 

Chicago  Board  of  Trade,  regiment  raised 
by.  29,  107;  at  Sanitary  Fair,  114; 
assisted  by  Lumbard  Quartette,  122; 
"boys"  attend  opening  of  "Sun- 
nyside,"  144;  at  Market  and  Madi- 
son Sts.,  174;  moved  to  Washington 
and  La  Salle  Sts., 184;  group  of  banks 
about,  185;  reception  to  King  of 
Sandwich  Islands,  269;  periodical 
attacks  of  direct  grain  shipments  to 
p:urope,  287,  288;  "Fellers"  and 
'Lambs "  at,  "The  Sharp  Comer," 
S46,  351 

Chicago  Chamber  of  Commerce,  first 
erected  on  site  of  First  Baptist 
Church,  174;  established  at  Wash- 
ington and  La  Salle  Sts.,  176 

"Chicago  Churches,"  book  by  "January 
Searle,"  95 

Chicago  Clearing  House  Association,  286, 
297 

Chicago  Driving  Park,  141,  179 

Chicago  Historical  Society,  draft  of 
Emancipation  Proclamation  depos- 
ited in,  109,  noie 

Chicago  Light  Artillery,  19 

Chicago  Mercantile  Battery,  29 

Chicago  Opera  House,  173 

"Chicago,  Present  and  Future  Prospects 
of,"  229 

Chicago  River,  North  Branch  of,  163, 


180,  181,  184;  South  Branch.  180; 
West  Branch,  208;  flooding  of,  367- 
871 

Chicago,  South.    See  South  Chicago 

Chicago  Times  (The).    See  Times 

Chicago  Tribune  {The).    See  Tribune 

Chicago  University  (originally  Baptist 
University),  saved  by  Dr.  Everts,  94; 
founded  by  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  178; 
murderous  assault  near,  323 

Chicago  Zouaves,  17,  19 

Childs,  S.  D.,  extreme  Abolitionist,  64; 
arrived  in  the  thirties,  164 

Chisolm.  Jim,  reporter,  241,  255,  256. 
335 

Christian  fellowship,  310 

'  'Christy  Minstrels,"  245 

Church,  Thomas,  164 
W.  L.,  164 

Churches.  Abolition.  63 
of  Chicago,  pulpit  as  a  war  force, 
90-103;  See  also  under  nam.es  of 
churches,  as:  First  Baptist;  First 
Congregational;  First  Presbyterian; 
St.  James  Episcopal;  Third  Pres- 
byterian 

Cincinnati,  Anti-Slavery  Convention  at, 
68;  Bumside's  headquarters  at,  51; 
compwired  with  Chicago,  342 

Circuit  Court  Clerkship,  Norman  T. 
Cassette's  campaign  for,  292.  298 

Circus.  133;  near  Court  House  Square, 
173;  an  important  factor  in  the 
fifties,  244,  245;  Bamum's  on  Lake 
Front,  268 

City  Hall .    S,ee  under  Chicago 

City  Hotel,  194 

Civil  War,  Chicago's  part  in:  National 
Republican  Convention,  1860,  1; 
entnusiasm  for  enlistment,  2;  no- 
table orators  and  presiding  officers, 
3-5 ;  attitude  of  Germans  and  Irish, 
6-12;  the  Ellsworth  Zouaves,  13-15; 
first  call  for  troops,  16;  Chicago 
Zouaves  protect  Illinois  Centnd 
Railroad  bridge.  17;  work  of  Union 
Defence  Conunittec,  18;  list  of  Chi- 
cago military  organizations.  19; 
capture  of  guns  at  St.  Louis  arsenal, 
20,  21;  Government  undertakes  re- 
cruiting and  equipping,  22;  trti  new 
regiments  organized,  23;  troops  fur- 
nished by  Illinois,  24-28;  Board  of 
Trade  raises  troops.  29;  Chicago's 
contribution  of  men,  30;  distin- 
guished Illinois  soldiers,  30,  31; 
contributions  of  "Darkest  Egypt," 


380 


INDEX 


Civil  War — conlintied 

31,  32;  troops  from  other  States  pass 
through  the  city,  33,  34;  "Old  Abe" 
at  Sanitary  Fair,  35,  36;  Chicago's 
camps  for  recruits  and  prisoners,  37; 
Camp  Douglas  and  other  camps, 
38-44,  179;  conspiracy  to  liberate 
the  prisoners,  45-50;  suppression 
of  the  Times  by  Bumside,  51-58; 
political  strife,  59-76;  Democratic 
National  Convention  of  1864  ("Cop- 
perhead Convention"),  77-89; 
*  'Copperhead  "  position  of  the  Times, 
331,  332;  work  of  the  ministers,  90- 
98;  support  of  Grerman  citizens,  99- 
103;  work  of  the  women  in  hospitals 
and  at  Sanitary  Fairs,  104-116;  part 
of  the  singers:  G.  F.  Root,  the 
brothers  Liunbard  and  others,  117- 
127;  effect  on  building,  184;  de- 
moralization following,  128-160,  205, 
248;  Army  Reunion  of  1868,  211- 
226;  writers  of  war  period,  231-239; 
effect  on  political  machinery  and 
administrative  life  of  Chicago,  289- 
295 

aapp,  Nicholas,  167 

Clark,  Mrs.  C.  M.,  106 
Francis,  164 
John  L.,  165 

Clark  Street,  boundary  of  Court  House 
Square,  82,  176;  boarding  house  dis- 
trict east  of,  131,  339;  intersection 
with  Randolph,  150, 183;  with  Wash- 
ington, 175,  245;  woodland  east  of, 
178;  intersection  with  Twelfth  Street, 
196.  See  also  North  Clark  Street 
Street  Bridge,  145 

Clarke,  John  L.,  residence  in  Terrace 
Row,  344 

Clarkson,  Robert  H.  (Rector  of  St.  James 
Episcopal  Church),  enthusiasm  for 
the  war,  91,  92 

"Clary,  'Colonel,' "  266 

Claude  Melnotte,  Fechter's,  249 

Cleaver,  Charles,  165 

Clinton  County,  111.,  26 

Clyboume,  Archibald,  arrived  in  1823, 
163;    presence  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.,  at 
Hubbard  silver  wedding,  206;    the 
Clyboume  mansion,  206,  207 
Mrs.  Archibald  (Mary  Galloway),  ar- 
rived in  1826,  206;   lived  to  see  the 
twentieth     century,     207;      Indian 
alarm,  208,  209 
Avenue,  181 
Capt.  John  H.,  14 


Cobb,  Silas  B.,  165 

Cobbs,  old  settlers,  198 

Coggswell,  Gen.  William,  214,  216 

Coggswell's  Battery,  29 

Colbert,  Elias,  239 

Cold  Harbor,  Grant's  repulse  at,  87 

Collins,  James  H.,  extreme  Abolitionist, 
64 

Collyer,  Robert  (Unitarian  clergyman), 
as  a  war  orator,  3;  originally  a  Meth- 
odist blacksmith,  90,  91;  efforts  on 
behalf  of  the  soldiers,  96,  97;  pre- 
sided at  organization  of  nursing 
corps,  105;  at  Decoration  Day  ser- 
vices, 237 

Colonial  Theatre,  142 

Colvunbian  Exposition,  242 

Colvin,  Harvey  D.,  Mayor,  as  a  presiding 
officer,  4 ;  member  of  Union  Defence 
Committee,  18;  People's  Party,  re- 
gime of,  265-271 

Colvin's  Battery,  29 

Comedians,  249,  250 

Comiskey,  Alderman,  11,  12 

Concerts,  lectures,  etc.,  given  in  churches 
311 
Summer  night,  345 ;  sacred,  348 

Confederate  prisoners  at  Camp  Douglas. 
See  Camp  Douglas 

Congregational  Church,  First.  See  First 
Congregational  Church 

Congressman  at-large  for  Illinois,  220, 
221 

Conkling,  Roscoe,  322 

Conley,  Philip,  4,  11 

Conway,  Moncure  D.,  337 

Cook  County,  25, 30,  324 

Cook,  Fred  Francis  (the  author),  year 
prior  *o  the  war  in  Galena,  63;  asso- 
ciated with  Chicago's  four  leading 
dailies,  73;  "Shooting  reporter," 
142;  arrived  in  1862,  171;  inter- 
view with  Marshall  Field,  190;  with 
L.  Z.  Leiter,  191;  report  of  the  Hub- 
bard silver  wedding,  203,  204;  in- 
terview with  Mrs.  Archibald  Cly- 
boume, 207;  encounter  with  Gen. 
Sherman,  217-220;  with  Gen.  Lo- 
gan, 220-222;  assisted  by  Mrs.  Lo- 
gan, 223-226;  some  "scoo|>s  nego- 
tiated" by,  252-263;  report  on  grain 
shipment  to  Europe,  287,  288; 
reported  lectures  of  Ingersoll  for 
Times,  313-315;  Lincoln  "Seance" 
for  Tribune,  324;  on  staff  of  Times, 
under  Storey,  336,  337;  first  attempt 
at  society  reporting,  352-358;  in  bliz- 


1 


INDEX 


881 


Cook,  Fred  Francis — continued 

zard  of  1863.  363-366;    expedition 
to  Brid^port,  367-371 
Gen.,  residence  in  Terrace  Row,  344 

Cook,  "Ike,"  proprietor  of  the  "Young 
America"  resort,  165 

Coolbaugh,  William  F.,  as  a  war  orator, 
3;  arrival  in  Chicago,  108;  example 
of  tragedy  of  popularity,  296-300 

Cooley,  race  horse,  141 

"Copper,"  "fly-cop,"  "sparrow-cop," 
origin  of  slang  terms,  172,  357 

"Copperhead  National  Convention." 
See  Democratic  National  Conven- 
tion of  1864 

"Copperheadism"  and  "Copperheads," 
12,  31,  48,  52,  54,  60,  76;  influences 
determining  position  of  Times,  331- 
338.  See  also  xmder  Civil  War 
(political  strife) 

Corse,  Gen.  John  M.,  16,  84,  292 

Cottage  Grove  Avenue,  41, 177,  179,  323, 
367 

Couch,  Ira  and  James,  165 

Court  House,  nucleus  of  business  centre, 
171;  bell  rung  for  battles,  etc.,  172; 
views  from  dome  of,  177-182,  194; 
stone  for  building,  193,  194;  done 
in  confectionery,  210;  winter  circus 
opposite,  245;  Hardscrabble  seen 
from  cupola  of,  359 

Court  House  Square,  recruiting  tents  in, 
2;  mass  meeting,  53;  debate  be- 
tween "Long  John"  Wentworth 
and  C.  L.  Vallandigham,  81;  centre 
of  city,  82,  171;  "Copperhead  orgy" 
in,  82-84;  surroundings  in  1862, 173- 
177;  Clark  Street  frontage,  183, 
361 

Coventry,  A.  C,  56 

Cowles,  T.  Z.,  reporter  and  night  editor 
of  Times,  336,  337 

Cox,  General,  214,  216,  217 
Gen.  J.  D.,  216 
Hon.  S.  S.,  82 

'  'Crackers,"  44 

Crane,  R.  T.,  107 

Credit  Mobilier  scandals,  134 

Crerar,  John,  arrival  in  Chicago,  168 

Croatian  laborers,  9 

Croft,  General,  214,  216 

Crosby's  Opera  House,  John  Wright's 
"swell'  resort  in,  175;  most  im- 
posing "art  temple"  in  country,  186; 
Army  Reunion  of  1868  at,  213  ei  seq.; 
ballet  dancing  at,  249 

Cuba's  Spanish  dancer,  248,  249 


Cunarders    moored    along    prospective 

docks  of  Calumet,  287 
Gushing,  Mrs.  E.  H.,  106 
Cushman,  Charlotte,  246 
Custer,  General,  216 

Dakota  blizzard,  365 

Dana,  Charles  A.,  239 

Dancing.    See  also  Ballet,  Cancan,  etc. 

Davenport,  E.  L.,  247 

"David  Garrick,"  365 

Davidson,  Frank,  335 

Davis,  Col.  George  R.,  County  Treas- 
urer, Congressman,  292 
Jefferson,  82;  bell  from  plantation  of, 

113 
Dr.  N.  S.,  opposes  the  war  on  consti- 
tutional grounds,  65  et  seq.;  appear- 
ance, dress,  standing  as  a  physician, 
65,  66;  amiability,  69;  arrived  about 
1850,  167 

Dean,  Rev.  Henry  Clay  ("Dirty  Shirt"), 
80,84 

Dearborn  Park,  site  of  Soldiers'  Home 
and  Public  Library,  110 
Street,  intersection  witli  Randolph, 
53,  74,  142,  145,  183,  194;  news- 
papers and  resorts  on,  185,  186; 
minstrels  on  Washington  St.,  near, 
245;  Times  moves  to,  185,  252;  in- 
tersection with  Washington  St.,  258, 
366 

Decoration  Day,  1870,  236 

Democracy,  more  prevalent  to-day  than 
in  past,  278,  279,  282;  of  early 
society,  342,  343 

Democrat  (The),  conducted  by  "Long 
John"  Wentworth,  162 

Democratic  National  Convention,  1864, 
48,  77-89 
party,  orators,  4;   "People's  Party"  in 
room  of,  264 

Democrats.  See  under  Civil  War  (polit- 
ical strife) 

Denver,  David  A.  Gage  in,  303 

Desplaines  River,  208,  260,  261;  Gage's 
farm  on,  301;   flood,  367 

Desplaines  Street,  192, 312 

De  Wolf,  Calvin,  extreme  Abolitionist,  64; 
arrived  in  the  thirties,  165 
William,  92 

"  Dexter,"  race  horse,  141 
Park,    named    for    horse    "Dexter," 
141;    trotting    at,   154;    located  on 
"Long  John  tract,"  179 
Wirt,  as  an  orator,  3 ;  speaker  on  sup- 
pression of  Tivies,  54, 55;  lawyer,  168 


S8£ 


INDEX 


Dial,  The,  a  critical  force  in  America,  240 

Dickey,  Judge  Hugh  T.,  56,  165;  resi- 
dence in  Terrace  Row,  344 

Dickinson,  Mrs.  C.  P.,  106 
Mrs.  E.  F.,  106 

Diehl,  Q)l.  Charles  S.,  law  reporter  and 
war  correspondent  for  Times,  335, 
337 

Dietsch,  Emil,  10 

Dillon,  John,  comedian,  247 

Dion,  Joseph,  billiard  player,  176 

Display,  mania  for,  342 

Diversey,  Michael,  165 

Diversy,  Lill  &,  235 

Dix,  Miss  Dorothea,  "Matron-General" 
of  the  Army,  105,  107 

"Dixie,"  Upton's  account  of  singing  of, 
121 

Dixon,  Arthur,  and  "Irish  Republicans," 
293-295 
detective,  256 

Dixon,  III,  122 

Doane,  John  W.,  4,  168 

Doggett,  William  E.,  167 

Doggett,  Mrs.  W.  E.,  106 

Dole,  George  W.,  165 

Dollar  more  worshipped  than  now,  280, 
282 

Donelson,  "Johnny  Rebs"  from,  179 

Doniker,  ministrel  j)erformer,  245 

Donoghue,  John,  242 

Dore,  John  C,  3,  18 

Douglas,  Bill,  veteran  policeman,  256 
Camp.      See  Camp  Douglas. 
Democracy,  Times  intended  organ  of, 

331,  332 
Stephen  A.,  friend  of  "Mat"  Carpen- 
ter, 5;  founded  Chicago  University, 
178;  had  headquarters  at  "Yoimg 
America,"  186;  met  Lincoln  at  home 
of  Gurdon  S.  Hubbard,  200;  Lincoln 
forced  the  issue  against,  273;  Cool- 
baugh  friend  of,  300 

Dow,  S.  K.,  3 

Dowie,  not  a  home-grown  product,  304 

Downtown  street  life .    See  Street  liife 

Draft  for  troops  by  Government,  24-27 

Drake,  John  B.,  host  of  the  Tremont 
House,  130,  194,  300;  arrived  about 
1850,  167 

Dress,  variety  worn  by  old  settlers,  205 

Drummond,  Judge  Henry,  as  a  presiding 
officer,  3;    issues  writ  on  IJumside 
order,  56 
Judge  Thomas,  18,  165 

Dry  goods  trade  in  State  Street,  185 

Dry  Tortugas,  49 


Dubuque  Herald  (The),  80 

Ducat,  Gen.  A.  C,  290 

Dufferin,  Lord,  city's  guest,  269 

Duggan,  (Catholic  Bishop),  97 

"Dundreary,"  Sothem  in,  249 

Dunham,  J.  H.,  167 

Dunlap,  George  L.,  4,  167 

Dunne,  Rt.  Rev.  Dennis  (Pastor  of  St. 
Patrick's  Church),  overcomes  prej- 
udice against  war,  91;  organizes 
"Irish  Legion,"  97 

Dyer,  Dr.  C.  V.,  extreme  Abolitionist,  64; 
arrived  in  the  thirties,  165;  at  Hub- 
bard silver  wedding,  205 

Dyhrenfurth,  Prof.  Julius,  10 

Eastman,  Col.  Frank  A.,  292 

Zabina,  extreme  Abolitionist,  64,  167 

Eau  Claire  Eagles.  See  Eighth  Wis- 
consin Regiment 

Eddy,  T.  M.  QVIethodist  minister),  95 

Edward,  King,  entertained  at  Richmond 
House,  194 

Edwards,  J.  T.  &  E.  M.,  jewelers,  175 

Egan,  Dr.  Wm.  B.,  186,  229 

"Egypt,  Darkest,"  31 

Eighteenth  Regiment,  66 
Street,  180 

Eighth  Wisconsin  Regiment's  war  eagle, 
34-37 

Eldridge,  Dr.  J.  W.,  165 

Eleventh  Illinois  Cavalry,  23 

Elliott,  detective,  256 

Ellis,  detective,  256 

Ellsworth,  Col.  Elmer  E.,  14,  15 

Ellsworth  Zouaves,  The,  13 

Elston,  Charles  and  Daniel,  165 

Emancipation  Proclamation,  62,  74,  93; 
draft  presented  by  Lincoln  to  Sani- 
tary Fair,  109,  note 

'  'Emancipation  Proclamation,  Signing 
of,"  painting  by  Carpenter,  110 

Emmet  Guards,  12 

Employer,  self-made,  282 

Episcopal  attitude  towards  the  war,  91 

Evans,  Mary,  army  nurse,  105 

Evarts,  William  M.,  274 

Evening  Mail,  New  York,  337 

Evening  Post,  185 

Everts,  William  W.  (Pastor  of  First  Bap- 
tist Church),  as  a  war  orator,  3; 
noted  war  minister,  91;  efforts  to 
save  Chicago  University,  94 

Exposition  building,  1873,  341 

Factories,  scarcity  of,  195 
Fairbanks,  N.  K.,  168 


I 


INDEX 


883 


Fairs,  held  in  Metropolitan  Hall,  176 

FaUtaff,  Hackett  as,  246,  249 

Farnum,  Henry,  167 

Faro  "lay-out"  at  Camp  Douglas,  44; 
secrecy  observed  in  {>laying,  150 

Farwell,  C.  B.,  arrived  in  the  forties,  167 

Farwell,  John  V.,  as  a  presiding  officer,  3; 
arrived  in  the  forties,  167;  fire  loss 
in  1869,  193;  supported  Moody,  305 

Fechter,  Charles,  German  actor,  247;  as 
Claude  Melnotte,  249 

Fergus,  Robert,  arrived  in  the  thirties, 
165;  published  first  city  directory, 
244 

"Festival,"  preceding  Sanitary  Fairs,  109 

Field,  Leiter  &  Co.,  moved  from  Lake 
St.  to  Market  and  Madison  Streets, 
174,  188;  located  at  State  and  Wash- 
ington, 187;  determined  city's  retail 
focus,  189;  dissolution  of  partner- 
ship, 190.  See  also  previous  firms, 
Palmer,  Potter;  Palmer,  Field,  Lei- 
ter &Co. 
Marshall,  as  a  presiding  oflScer  in  war 
time,  4;  name  familiar  to-dav,  168; 
determined  retail  focus  of  Chicago, 
187;  dominating  power  in  firm,  189; 
objected  to  publicity,  190,  191.  See 
also  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.  and  L.  Z. 
Leiter. 

Fifth  Avenue  Hotel,  New  York,  301 

Fifth  Avenue,  South  Wells  Street,  fumi- 
gated into,  158;  Ibach  on,  351;  in- 
tersection with  Monroe,  352 

Finane,  John,  335 

Finertv,  John  F.,  335 

Fire  alarms,  368 

Fire-arms,  frequently  used  in  Randolph 
St.,  142 

Fire  companies.     See  under  Chicago 

Fire  loss  m  1868,  193 

Fire  of  1871,  left  scanty  records,  61; 
clanging  of  Court  House  bell  during, 
172;  destroyed  a  new  "down  town," 
173;  destroyed  North  Side  estates, 
179;  changed  shopping  centre,  188, 
189;  "curtain  raisers  '  preceding, 
193;  draft  of  Emancipation  Proc- 
lamation destroyed  in,  109,  note; 
Joseph  Medill  mayor  during,  264; 
loss  of  J.  H.  Bo  wen  s  fortune  m,  286; 
scarcity  of  halls  after,  312;  Isaac 
Spear  on,  371 

First  Baptist  Church,  Dr.  Everts  pastor 
of,  94,  95;  replaced  by  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  174 
Congregational  Church,  organized  by 


Deacon  Carpenter,  68;   war  record 
under  W.  W.  Patton,  93 
National  Bank,  185,  186,  195,  299 
Presbyterian    Church,    Deacon    Car- 
penter instrumental  in  organizing,  68 
Fitch,  Senator  from  Indiana,  81 
Flint,  of  Chicago  Board  of  Trade,  29 
Florence,  Billy,  249 
Foley,  Tom,  bUliard  champion,- 133,  178, 

271 
FoUansbee,  Alanson  and  Charles,  165 
Fontenoy  Barracks,  13 
Foreign-born  citizens,  attitude  of,  6 
Forrest,  Edwin,  247 

Fort  Dearborn  in  1818,  197;   embodied 
in  a  confection,  210 
Donelson,  capture  of,  41;  prisoners  at 

Camp  Douglas,  23,  179 
Henry,  prisoners  from,  179 
Sumter,  59,  61,  96 
Foster,  Mrs.  A.,  106 
Mrs.  Ambrose,  106 
Dr.  John,  165 

Miss  Mary  E.  M.,  nurse  in  Civil  War, 
105 
Frame  buildings  dating  from  the  thirties, 

176 
Franklin  Street,  153,  188,  196,  366 
Free-lunch  resorts,  176 
Freeport,  111.,  122 

Freer,   Joseph   Warren,   arrived  in  the 
thirties,  165 
L.  C.  P.,  64 
Freethinkers,  German,  101,  102 
Free-thinking  Society,  311 
French  Revolution,  71 
Frink,   John,   owner  of  Western  stage 

coaches,  165 
Fry,  Camp.     See  Camp  Fry 
Fuller,  Judge  Henry,  165 
John,  of  Michigan,  83 
Chief  Justice,  M.  W.,  168 
Samuel  W.,  54 
Fullers,  old  settlers,  198 
Fullerton,  Alexander  N.,  167 
Fulton,  H.  L.,  extreme  Abolitionist,  64 
"Functions,"  357 

Fur  trade.  See  under  American  Fur 
Company,  Galloway  family,  Hub- 
bard, Gurdon  S. 

Gage  brothers,  at  the  Massasoit,  Tre- 
mont,  and  Sherman  hotels,  195,  300 

Gage,  David  A.,  as  a  presiding  officer,  4 ; 
arrived  about  1850,  167;  example 
of  the  tragedy  of  popularity,  296, 
300-303 


884 


INDEX 


Gage,  George  W.,  167 
Jared  and  John,  165 
Lyman  J.,  cashier  of  Merchants  Sav- 
ings Loan  &  Trust  Ojmpany,  168; 
with  First  National  Bank,  299 

Gale,  Abram,  165 
Stephen  F.,  165 

Galena,  111.,  63 
Railroad,  181 

Galesburg,  111.,  122 

Galloway  fanaily  sojourn  at  "Hard- 
scrabble,"  206-209 

Gamblers  and  gambling,  128,  132,  136, 
137,  150-156,  186 

"Garden  City,"  143;  why  Chicago  was 
known  as,  177;  reverts  to  beginnings, 
203;  history  of,  230 

Garden  City  Hotel,  195 

Garrett,  Augustus,  three  times  elected 
mayor,  165 

Garrison  Abolitionist,  R.  W.  Patterson, 
a,  96;  Robert  Collver  a,  97 

Garrison,  William  Lloyd,  lecture  on 
"Reconstruction,"  173 

Gassette,  Norman  T.,  campaign  for  Cir- 
cuit Court  clerkship,  292,  293 

Gates,  P.  W.,  165;  foundry  of,  196 

Gault,  John  C,  168 

"General  Butler,"  race  horse,  141 

Georgia,  Army  Society  of,  212 

German  idealism,  118 
loyalty,  130 
population,  10 

societies,  picnics  in  Lake  View,  181 
Theatre,  100,  101,  247 
Turners,  19 

Germans,  attitude  towards  the  war,  6-10; 
tolerance  toward,  99  et  seq.;  support 
Sunday  theatre,  100;  freethinking 
and  socialistic  tendencies,  101-103 

Gibbs,  Mrs.  George,  106 

Gilbert,  Samuel  H.,  165 

Giles  Brothers,  remove  from  Lake  to 
State  St.,  188 

Gilmore,  Col.  R.  A.,  292 

Gindele,  John  G.,  10 

Gleason,  Capt.  M.,  11 

"Good  old  times,"  272 

Goodrich,  Judge  Grant,  18,  165 
T.  W.,  165 

Goss  &  Phillips  Sash  and  Door  Factory, 
196 

Grossip,  in  place  of  personal  paragraphs, 
161 

Gottlieb,  factotum  of  "The  Sharp  Cor- 
ner," 345  et  seq. 

Gottschalk,  concert  by,  173 


Goudy.W.  C,  168 

Grain  elevators,  180 

Grand  opera.     See  Opera. 

Grand  Pacific  Hotel,  King  of  Sandwich 
Islands  at,  268 

Grannis,  Amos  and  S.  W.,  165 

Grant,  Lt.-Gen.  Ulysses  S.,  distinguished 
Illinois  soldier,  30;  came  from  Ga- 
lena, 63;  originally  a  Democrat,  84; 
repulsed  at  Cold  Harbor,  87;  pre- 
sents "Jack"  to  Sanitary  Fair,  111; 
reception  at  Sanitary  Fair,  113-115; 
quartered  at  Tremont  House,  212; 
nominated  in  Crosby's  Ojiera  House, 
213;  at  Army  Reunion  of  1868,  214, 
215,  220 

Graves,  Dexter,  165 
E.  B.,  army  nurse,  105 
Henry,  165 

Gray,  Charles  M.,  Franklin  D.,  George 
M.,  John,  Joseph  H.,  and  Moses, 
165 
J.,  wigs,  175 

Great  men's  influence  on  history,  70,  71 

Greeley,  Horace,  presides  at  meeting 
denouncing  Burnside's  order,  58; 
sends  photographs  to  Sanitary  Fair, 
111 

Greenbacks,  effects  of  the  great  output 
of,  133 

Greenebaum,  Henry,  10 

Greenfelder,  Mrs.  I.,  106 

Grenfell,  Col.  G.  St.  Leger,  48,  49 

Griggs,  S.  C,  169;  residence  in  Terrace 
Row,  344 
S.  C.  &  Co.  (predecessors  of  A.  C.  Mc- 
Clurg  &  Co.),  bookstore  burned  in 
fire  of  1868,  193;  Phillips'  descrip- 
tion of  establishment,  233 

Guest,  — ,  Scotchman,  308 

Guns  captured  by  Capt.  Stokes,  21 

Gurnee,   Denton,   residence   in  Terrace 
Row,  344 
Walter  S.,  59 

Guyer,  I.  D.,  232 

Hackett,  J.  H.,  as  Falstaff,  246,  249 
Hacks,  hired  at  Court  House  Square,  171 
Hadduck,  B.  F.,  165 

E.  H.,  165 
'  'Hail  Columbia,"  2 
Haines,  E.  M.,  165 

John    C.     ("Copper-stock    Haines"), 
mayor,  164,  172 
Hair  jeweliy,  235 

Hale,  Dr.  Edward  Everett,  "Man  with- 
out a  Country,"  118 


INDEX 


885 


Hall,  Fred,  239 
Philip  A.,  165 

Halls,  scarcity  after  fire,  312 

Halsted  Street,  260,  368,  369 

Hamilton,  Miss  Adeline,  army  nurse,  105 
Henry  E.,  4,  45 
Col.  John  H.,  165 
P.  D.,  165 

Hamlet,  first  night  of  a  new,  246 

Ilavilets  galore,  247 

Hamlin,  Jack,  137 

Hammond,  C.  G.,  167 

Hampton  Roads,  battle  of,  80 

Handiett,  John  L.,  165 

Capt.  S.  F.,  clerk  Probate  Court,  292 

Hancock,  Col.  John  L.,  3,  29,  84,  167 

"Hand  Book  of  Chicago,"  344 

Harding's  (Capt.)  Company,  19 

"Hardscrabble "  located  between  Archer 
and  Blue  Island  Avenues,  180;  the 
Galloways'  sojourn  at,  207-209;  a 
"Hardscrabble"  romance,  359-362 

Harmon,  Charles  L.,  £.  P.,  Isaac  D., 
and  Isaac  N.,  165 

Harney,  Greneral,  214 

Harper's  Ferry,  surrender  of  Union  men 
at,  41 

Harrington,  Charles  E.,  assistant  city 
editor  of  Times,  336,  337 

Harris  (Congressman  from  Maryland), 
indictment  of  McClellan,  85,  86 

Harrison,  Carter  H.,  Sr.,  176 

Harrison  Street,  153, 195;  intersection  with 
Halsted,  266 

Harte,  Bret,  227 

Harvey,  Mrs.  J.  M.,  106 
T.  M.,  4 
T.  W.,  167 

Haskin,  Edwin,  168 

Hatton,  Joseph,  the  novelist,  330 

Haverly,  "Colonel"  J.  H.,  gambler,  im- 
presario, and  promoter,   153-156 

Haverly  (>pera  House,  313 

Hawley,  Mrs.  Elizabeth,  106 

Hayden,  Capt.  James  R.,  14,  17,  18 

Hayes,  S.  S.,  55 

Heacock,  Russell  E.,  164 

Hemans,  Mrs.,  148 

Henderson,  Charles  H.,  167 
C.  M.,  167 

Hendricks,  Grt)vemor  of  Indiana,  81 

Henshaw,  Mrs.  Sarah  E.,  106 

Henshaw's  Battery,  29 

Herrick,  E.  W.,  165 

Hesing,  A.  C,  3, 10, 167;  owner  of  StaaU- 
Zeitung,  264 

Higginbotham,  H.  N.,  168 


Higgins,  Mrs.  E.,  106 
Van  H.,  18,  165 

Hight,  Miss  Jenny,  Chicago's  first  ballet 
dancer,  247-249 

Hilliard,  L.  P.,  165 

Hinman,  Major  "Jack,"  city  editor  of 
the  Times,  335 

Hippodrome,  North's,  246 

History  as  written  in  the  forties,  229-231 

"History  of  Chicago,"  by  I.  D.  Guyer, 
232 

"Histoiy  of  Illinois,"  229 

Hoard,  Samuel,  165 

Hoffman,  F.  A.,  10 

Hoffman  House,  New  York,  322 

Hoge,  Mrs.  A.  H.,  representative  of  Ma- 
tron-Greneral  Dix,  105;  associated 
with  M.  A.  Livermore,  108;  one  of 
managers  of  "Festival,"  109 

Holden,  C.  N.,  defeated  by  F.  C.  Sher- 
man, 59;  arrived  in  the  thirties,  165 
Mrs.  C.  N.,  106 

*  'Honest  Abe,"  significance  of,  273 

Hooker,  (Jen.  Joseph,  "Fighting  Joe," 
at  the  Sanitary  Fair,  114;  at  Army 
Reunion  of  1868,  214,  215;  heads 
Lincoln  funeral  cortege,  317 

Hopson,  E.  J.,  millinery,  175 

Horseback  riding,  369 

Horse  racing,  154-156.  See  also  Dexter 
Park,  West  Side  Driving  Park 

Hosmer,  Charles  H.,  92 
Harriet,  sends  "Zenobia"  to  Sanitary 

Fair,  110 
Mrs.  O.  E.,  activity  for  soldiers,  106; 
one  of  managers  of  "Festival,"  110 

Hospitals,  work  of  the  women  in  the 
military,  104-116 

Hotchkiss,  Gen.  Charles  T.,  City  Clerk, 
Pension  Agent,  292 

Hotels,  impromptu  gatherings  at,  78; 
Chicago  noted  for  excellence  of,  194, 
195,  243;  during  Army  Reunion  of 
1868,  212;  David  A.  Gage,  hotel- 
keeper  far  excellerwe,  301,  366. 
See  also  names  of  chief  hotels  as 
Briggs,  Lake,  Matteson,  Richmond, 
Sherman,  Tremont,  etc. 

Hough,  O.  S.,  165 
R.  M.,  17,  18,  65 

Howard,  Greneral,  214 

Hoyne,  Philip  A.,  167 
Thomas,  as  a  war  orator,  3;  as  a  pre- 
siding oflBcer,  4;  stood  for  the  Union, 
11;  on  Union  Defence  Committee, 
18;  arrived  in  the  thirties,  165;  on 
historical  committee  of  lyceum,  229 


386 


INDEX 


Hubbard,  Gurdon  S.,  arrived  in  1818, 
163;  hospitality  of  home  at  La 
Salle  Ave.  and  Locust  St.,  198;  In- 
dian traits,  199;  friendship  for  Lin- 
coln and  Douglas,  200;  business 
experiences,  201,  202;  silver  wedding, 
197,  198,  203-206,  210 
Mrs.  Gurdon  S.  (the  first),  death  in 

1838,  201 
Mrs.  Gurdon  S.   (the  second),    char- 
acter, 198;  long  life,  210,  note.    See 
also  Hubbard,  Gurdon  S. 
John  M.,  in  Liunbard  quartette,  127 
Louis  DeKoven,  92 

Hubbard  &  Co.,  Gilbert,  building,  193 

"Hubbard's  trail,"  201 

Huck,  Louis,  10 

Hughitt,  Marvin,  168 

Hungarian  laborers,  9 

Huntington,  Alonzo,  165 

Hurlbut,  "Big  BiU,"  347,  349,  350 
Maj.-Gten.  Stephen  A.,  30 

Hutchinson,  B.  P.  ("Old  Hutch"),  168 
family,  war  time  singers,  124 

Hyde  Park,  178,  258,  286,  287,  363 

Hyman,  "Cap.,"  gambler,  138,  139,  142; 
wedding,  143;  opening  of  "Sunny- 
side,"  142,  145 

Ibach,  proprietor  of '  'The  Sharp  Corner," 

345  etseq. 
niinois  and  Michigan  Canal,  203,  260, 
367 
Central  Railroad,  16;  bridge  over  Big 
Muddy,  17;  station  at  foot  of  Lake 
St.,  196;  tracks  on  Lake  front,  339 
Constitutional  Convention  of  1869,  297 
delegation    to    Republican     National 

Convention  of  1860,  275 
Indians,  199 
River,  208 
Southern,  17 

troops,  raised  for  Civil  War,  12,  16,  19, 
22-32,  118,  122;   Southern  conspir- 
acy in,  49;  originally  opposed  to  the 
war,   60;    Owen  Lovejoy's  district 
in,     71;      Logan    Congressman-at- 
largefor,220 
Indiana  delegation  to  Democratic  Con- 
vention of  1864,  80 
Street,  100,  157 
Indians,  Gmdon  S.  Hubbard's  trading 
with,  201;  Mrs.  Clyboume's  adven- 
ture with,  208,  209 
Individualistic  era,  283 
Industries,  a  history  of  Chicago's,  282 
Ingalls,  General,  214 


Ingalls,  Mrs.  Dr.,  106 

Ingersoll,  Col.  Robert  G.,  orator  for  Re- 
publicans, 4;  leads  11th  Illinois 
Cavalry,  23;  throws  gauntlet  in  face 
of  defenders  of  Bible,  102;  pro- 
tagonist of  infidelity,  311-315 

Insurance  interests  on  La  Salle  Street,  185 

Inter  Ocean,  185 

"Invincible  Club,"  67 

Iowa,  troops  for  Civil  War,  27;  regiments 
pass  mrough  Chicago,  33;  farmers 
contribute  to  Sanitary  Fair,  110 

Irish,  attitude    towards   the  war,  6-12, 
61 ;  constituted  one-third  of  Chicago's 
population,  99 
Brigade,  The,  11,  12 
comedians,  249 

"Irish  Legion."    See  Ninetieth   Illinois 
Regiment 
military  organization,  6 

"Irish  Repubhcans,"  Arthiu-  Dixon's, 
293-295 

Iron  age,  the  city's,  192 

"Iron  Brigade,"  216 

Isham,  E.  S.,  168 

Island  No.  10,  prisoners  from,  179 

Italian  laborers,  9 

"Jack,"  Gren.  Grant's  horse,  110,  114 

Jackson  Hall,  John  Wentworth's,  252 

Jacobin,  psychology  of,  76 

Jacobson,  Col.  Augustus,  Clerk  Superior 
Court,  292 

Janauschek  as  Lady  Macbeth,  246 

"January  Searle."  See  Phillips,  George 
S. 

"Jayhawking,"  57 

Jefferson,  Joseph,  last  link  between  stage 
of  past  and  present,  90;  name  in 
Chicago  Directory  for  1839,  244;  in 
"Rip,"  249 

Jennison,  Col.,  57,  58 

Jessell,  E.  A.,  auctioneer,  175 

Jewett,  John  N.,  as  an  orator,  3;  as  a  pre- 
siding officer,  4;  name  familiar  to- 
day, 168 

"John  Brown's  Body,"  2 

"John  Phoenix,"  227 

"Johnnie  Graybacks,"  42 

"Johnny  Rebs"  at  Camp  Douglas,  78 

Johnson,  E.  S.,  army  nurse,  105 

Jones,  Fernando,  165,  166 

Journal,  conservative  Republican  paper, 
73;  located  on  Dearborn  St.,  185; 
B.  F.  Taylor  on  staff  of,  238 

Judd,  Norman  B.,  165;  nominated  Lin- 
coln for  president,  274,  275 


1 


INDEX 


387 


Juliet,  Adelaide  Nielson  as,  249 
Jussen,  Col.  Edmund,  3,  10 

Kean,  Charles,  247 
Thomas,  W.,  247 
Keitli  brothers,  167 
Kelley,    Father,    chaplain   of   Ninetieth 

niinois,  98 
Kellogg,  Mrs.  J.  S.,  army  nurse,  105 
Kelly,  minstrel  performer,  245 
Kendall  County,  111.,  163 
Kenkels,  German  actors,  101 
Kennedy,  detective,  256 
Kenney,  detective,  256 
Kennison,  David,  last  survivor  of  Boston 

Tea  Party,  164 
Keno,  150-153 
Kentucky  delegation  arrives  at  Tremont 

House,  86,  87 
element  in  Chicago,  45 
refuses  call  for  troops,  20 
Kerfoot  W.  D.,  167 
Ketchum,  Democratic  speaker  from  New 

York,  83 
Kimball,  Mark,  165 

Walter,  165 
Kimbark,  S.  D.,  167 
King,  Henry  W.,  167 
John  Lyle,  3 
Tuthill,    165;    residence    in    Terrace 

Row,  344 
KingsburyJIall,  245 
KinseUa,T.  J.,  11 
Kinzie,  John,  Chicago's  first  bona  fide 

settler,  164;  log  house  of,  201,  210; 

in  massacre  of  1812, 241 
John  Harris,  92,  163,  164 
Robert  A.,  antedated  men  of  the  thir- 
ties, 163,  164 
Kirk,  James  S.,  168 
Kirkland,  Major,  "History  of  Chicago," 

334 
Klokke,  Capt.  E.  F.  C,  Clerk  County 

Court,  292 
Knickerbocker,  Abraham  V.,  165 
Knights  of  the  Golden  Circle,  74,  130 

Lady  Elgin,  steamer,  5 
Laflin,  Matthew,  165 
Laflins,  old  settlers,  198 
Lake  County,  324 

Front,  Bamum's  Circus  on,  268;  dur- 
ing Lincoln's  funeral,  317 
House  opened  in  1835,  195;  best  hotel 

in  the  West,  202 
Michigan,  201,  203,  260,  371 


Lake  Street,  intersection  with  Centre 
Ave.,  181;  as  boundary  of  business 
area,  183-185;  financial  interests 
centred  at  intersection  with  La 
Salle,  186, 187;  uniformity  of  sky  line, 
192;  intersection  with  Wabash  Ave., 
193;  with  State  St.,  194;  with 
Randolph  St.,  196;  Illinois  Central 
Station  at  foot  of,  196;  real  estate 
values  at  intersection  with  La  Salle, 
262;  intersection  with  Canal,  206; 
A.  H.  Miller's  jewelry  store  on,  233; 
robbery  on,  256;  depth  of  mud  in, 
361 
View,  Camp  Fry  in  precincts  of,  29; 
"Sunnyside"  in,  143;  a  separate 
burg,  145;    thickly  wooded,  181 

Lakeside  Monthly,  The,  edited  by  F.  F. 
Browne,  240 

Lamont  marble,  193,  194,  196 
sandstone,  343 

Landowner,  the  "hold-fast,"  281 

Larabee,  Lucius  Sherman,  92 

Larmon  block,  175 

Lamed,  E.  C,  3,  18,  167 

Larrabee,  William  M.,  165,  227 

La  Salle  Avenue  (North  La  Salle  Street), 
Hubbard  mansion  on,  197 
Street,  boundary  of  "grand  centre" 
of  city,  82;  sleighing  on,  145; 
buildit^  on,  174-176;  intersection 
with  Lake,  183;  intersection  with 
Madison,  319;  intersection  with 
Randolph,  345 

Latin  Quarter  fashion,  242 

Laughton  cabin  at  Hardscrabble,  209 

Law,  Robert,  167 

Lawrence,  Mrs.  106 

Lawson,  Iver,  165 

Lawyer,  Lincoln  not  a  type  of  the  average, 
272.  See  also  famous  Chicago  law- 
yers, as:  Arnold,  I.  N.;  Storrs,  Em- 
ory; Swett,  Leonard,  etc. 

Leather  shields  worn  by  policemen, 
171 

Lee,  sends  force  to  Washington,  88;  sur- 
render of,  110 

Leiter,  Levi  Z.,  168,  189-191.  See  also 
Field,  Leiter  &  Co.  and  Palmer, 
Field,  Leiter  &  Co. 

Leon,  minstrel  performer,  245 

Letz,  Fred,  10 

Lexington,  Missouri,  13,  23 

"Libbjr  and  Son,  Ship  Chandlers,"  sign 
with  legend,  113 

Lill,  William,  165 
&  Diversy's  beer,  235 


INDEX 


Lincoln,  Abraham,  received  nomination 
for  President  in  Chicago,  1;  Ells- 
worth studied  law  with,  14;  eflfect 
of  his  death  on  Abolitionists,  6S;  in- 
fluence as  a  martvr,  70,  72;  reelec- 
tion of,  79;  speeches  against,  82-84; 
majority  over  McCIellan,  83,  note; 
charges  against,  85,  86;  trouble  in 
Cabinet  of,  88;  friend  of  F.  Rich- 
mond of  Chicago,  89;  received 
appeal  of  Dr.  Patton  and  others,  93 ; 
presented  draft  of  Emancipation 
Proclamation  to  Chicago  Sanitary 
Fair,  109  and  note;  to  Mbany  Army 
Relief  Bazaar,  110,  note;  log  cabin 
exhibited,  110;  catafalque  e:mibited, 
113;  given  to  the  nation  by  Illinois, 
118;  nominated  in  "Wigwam,"  196; 
guest  of  Gurdon  S.  Hubbard,  200; 
part  in  Black  Hawk  War,  202;  sig- 
nificance and  character,  272-277; 
funeral  and  lying  in  state,  286,  316- 
320;  Lincoln  "Seance"  conducted 
by  Isaac  N.  Arnold  and  Leonard 
Swett,  322-330 

"Lincoln  bastile,"  80 

Lincoln  Park,  in  part  a  cemetery,  178; 
ghosts  walk  in,  181 
Rifles,  19 

Lind,  Sylvester,  165 

Linder,  Gen.  U.  F.,  4,  186 

Literature,  Chicago's  prospective  great- 
ness in,  170;    early  examples,  227, 
228;    historian   of    1846,    229-231 
the    early    sixties,    231-236;     Ben- 
jamin  F.  Taylor,    poet,    236,   237 
Greorge  P.  Upton,  238;  other  writ 
ers  of   the  war   period,    238,  239 
Francis   F.  Browne,  editor  of  The 
Lakeside  Monthly  and    The  Dial, 
240 

"Little  Frank."    See  McClenthan 

"Little  Mac."    See  McCIellan 

"Little  Mac,"  songs  with  refrain,  85 

Livermore,  Rev.  D.  P.,  editor  of  Univer- 
salist  paper,  107 
Mary  A.  (Mrs.  D.  P.),  one  of  Dr.  Ry- 
der's congregation,  96;  representa- 
tive of  Matron-General  Dix  in  the 
war,  105-108;  one  of  managers  of 
the  Sanitary  Fairs,  109 

Lloyd,  Alexander,  165 
block,  193 
Henry  D.,  261 

Lockport-Lamont  quarries,  193 

Lockport  Light  Artillery,  19 

Locust  Street,  197 


Logan,  Gen.  John  A.,  as  a  war  orator,  4; 
leader  of  the  Thirty-first  Illinois  In- 
fantry, 23;  distinguished  Illinois 
soldier,  30;  originally  a  Democrat, 
84;  at  the  Army  Reunion  of  1868, 
212,  214,  215,  220-222;  as  a  poli- 
tician, 222-225 
Mrs.  John  A.,  example  of  her  tactful 

cooperation,  222-226 
John  A.,  Jr.,  225 

Long,  Mrs.  J.,  106 
James,  165 

"Long  John."    Sc«  Wentworth 

"Long  John  tract,"  179,  301 

Loonus,  J.  M.,  hatter,  175 
Mrs.  J.  M.,  106 

Lord  &  Smith's  drug  store,  235 

"Lotto,"  "Keno"  another  name  for,  150 

Lovejoy,  Owen,  editor  of  The  Alton  Ob- 
server, 68,  71,  72 

Lower  Mississippi,  "Blackleg"  of,  129, 
131 

Ludlow,  Mrs.  Reuben,  106 

Lumbard,  Frank  and  Jules,  war  time 
stagers,  2,  119;  "The  Battle  Cry  of 
Freedom"  first  sung  by,  120,  121; 
Jules'  letter  about  "Ole  Shady"  as 
sung  by  Frank,  124-126;  character 
and  death  of  Frank  Lumbard,  127 
quartette,  122,  126,  127 

Lumber  district,  present,  180 
market,  343 

Lunt,  Orrington,  167 

Lyceum  organized,  229 

McAllister,  W.  K.,  4 

McArthur,  Gen.  John  A.,  292 

"Macbeth,"  246 

McCagg,  E.  B.,  gave  for  relief  of  soldiers, 
108;  arrival  in  the  thirties,  167; 
residence  on  North  Side,  179 

McCIellan,  Gen.,  on  the  peninsula  near 
Richmond,  23;  conspiracy  for  elec- 
tion of,  49;  nomination,  84;  Harris' 
indictment  of,  85,  86 

McClenthan,  Frank  C.  ("Little  Frank"), 
reports  a  secret  conference,  270;  on 
staff  of  Times,  335 

McCIemand,  Maj.-Gren.  John  A.,  30,  84, 
214 

McClurg,  Gen.  A.  C,  name  familiar  to- 
day,   168;    distinguished   exception 
to  "spoils  system,"  290 
&  Co.  (A.  C),  succeeded  S.  C.  Griggs 
&  Co.,  233 

McComas,  E.  W.,  53;  editor  of  Timet, 
S32 


INDEX 


389 


McCook,  General.  214 

McConnick,  Cynis  H.,  arrived  in  the 
forties,  167;  his  reaper  factory,  196; 
owner  of  Times,  882 

McCormick's  block,  74,  186 

McDevitt,  John,  billiard  player,  176 

McDonald,  M.  C.  ("Mike"),  11,  12 

McDowell,  General,  214 

McElroy,  Daniel,  11 

"McGary,  Jim,"  266 

McKeever,  "Mollie,"  141 

Mackinac,  201 

McMurray,  Capt.  F.,  11 

MacVeagh,  Franklin,  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  168 

McVickar,  Brock,  239 

McVicker,  J.  H.,  as  a  presiding  oflBcer,  4; 
battery  of  sewing  machines,  109; 
arrived  about  1850,  167;  located 
theatre  in  "shanty  town,"  244;  as  an 
actor,  249;  bondsman  for  D.  A. 
Gage,  303;   mentioned,  344 

McVicker's  Theatre,  Chicago's  only 
American  theatre  in  middle  sixties, 
101,  103;  on  its  present  site  in  1862, 
195,  244;  orchestra,  347,  364 

Madison  County,  111.,  26 

Street,  boundary  of  boarding-house 
section,  131;  comer  of  Market  and, 
174;  Dearborn  and,  185;  N.  E. 
corner  of  Market  and,  188,  195; 
McVicker's  Theatre  in,  244;  inter- 
section with  La  Salle,  319;  "Board- 
ers' Paradise"  in,  309 
Street  Bridge,  196 

Madison,  Wis.,  burning  of  the  capitol  at, 
36 

Magees,  old  settlers,  198 

Magie,  H.  H.,  arrival  in  the  thirties,  165, 
166;    residence  on  North  Side,  179 

Maher,  Hugh,  11,  165 

Mahony,  D.  A.,  editor  of  The  Dvbvque 
Herald,  80 

Mail,  going  for,  186 

Mail,  The,  336 

Maltby,  RIai.-Gen.  Jaspar  Q.,  63 

Manierre,  George,  18,  165 

Mann,  Gen.  O.  L.,  Collector  Internal 
Revenue,  292 

Manners  of  early  Chicagoans,  227 

Mansions  of  old  families,  342 

Manufactories,  196 

Map  of  Chicago,  Giudon  S.  Hubbard's, 
201;  relief  map  in  1868,  210 

Mapleson.  Colonel,  154 

Marble,  Dan,  comedian,  249 

"Marble  Terrace."    »Sce  Terrace  Row 


"Marching  through  Georgia,"  856 

"Maritana,"  848 

"Mark  Twain,"  227 

Market  Street,  business  focus  for  a  time 
at  interseciion  with  Madison,  174; 
removal  of  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.  from, 
188;  Garden  City  Hotel  at,  195; 
"Wigwam"  on,  196 

Marmaduke,  Col.  Vincent,  48 

Marshall,  James  A.,  165 

"Martha,"  music  from,  247 

Martin,  George  G.,  telegraph  editor  and 
later  managing  editor  of  Times,  836, 
337 

Mason,  Roswell  B.  (ex-Mayor),  as  a  pre- 
siding officer,  3;   arrived  in  the  for- 
ties, 167 
Dr.  William,  169 

Massacre  of  1812,  201 ;  painting  of,  241 

Massasoit  House,  195 

Mastodon  Minstrels,  153 

Matteson,  Andrew,  332 
House,  145,  194 
House  Cajt,  148,  186 

Medill,  Joseph,  arrived  about  1850,  167; 
"scoops       The    Chicago    Tribune, 
257-260;    "fire-proof"  Mayor,  264 
Mrs.  Joseph,  106 
Sam,  manager  of  the  Tribune,  259 

"Meiums,"  Leonard  Swett  and  Isaac 
N.  Arnold,  323 

Melnotte,  Claude,  343 

Merchants  Loan  Savings  &  Trust  Com- 
pany, 168 

Mercy  Hospital,  232 

Memmac,  Rebel  ram,  80 

'  'Merry  Wives  of  Windsor,"  348 

Methodist  Church  in  Chicago.  See  under 
Eddy,  T.  M.  and  Tiffany,  O.  H. 

Metropolitan  Block,  176 
Hall,  122,  129.  176 
Hotel,  194,  366 

Michigan  Avenue,  tree-lined,  177;  whole- 
sme  and  jobbing  trade  diverted  to, 
185;     Richmond   House   on   South 
Water  St.  and,  194;  as  far  as  Harri- 
son St.,  195;  "Marble  Terrace"  on, 
232;   elite  residence  street,  389,  344 
Central  train  stalled  by  storm,  363 
City,  Ind.,  363 
regiments  in  Chicago,  83 
sand  hills  seen  from  Court  House  dome, 
177 

Middle  West,  religion  in,  98;  poets  ad- 
mired by,  148;  Lincoln  choice  of,  274 

Mihalotzky,  Captain,  19 

'  'Military  craze,"  291 


390 


INDEX 


Military  drills  in  Uoyd  block,  193 
Miller,  A.  H.,  jewelry  store,  233 
Miss  Jane  A.,  army  nurse,  105 
Milliken,  Isaac  L.,  164 

Isaac  N.,  ex-Mayor,  4, 152 
Millionaires,  Chicago's  first,  281 
Milwaukee,  3,  5 

Avenue  (fonnerly  Northwestern  plank 

road),  10,  181 
Ministers  of  Chicago:   during  war  time, 

90-100;  greatness  as  compared  with 

those  of  New  York,  169.    See  also 

Clarkson,    CoUyer,  Dunne,  Everts, 

Moody,  Patton 
Minnesota  regiments  in  Chicago,  33 
Minstrels,  in  the  early  sixties,  133 ;  noted 

performers  in,  245.   See  also  Christy 

Minstrels,  Mastodon  Minstrels 
Mission  Ridge,  115 
Mississippi  Valley,  260 
Missouri,  9,  20 

"  Molly  McCarthy,"  race  horse,  154 
Monroe  County,  111.,  26 

Street,   intersection  with   Wells,    158; 

with  Morgan  St.,  174;    near  Fifth 

Ave.,  246,  352 
Montreal,  201 
Moody,  Dwight  L.,  aggressive  evangelist, 

304—311 
Moore,  Capt.  C,  11 
•'Morgan  Raiders,"  43 

Street,  174 
Morning  Post,  185,  231 
Morris,  Judge  Buckner  S.,  accused  of 

conspiracy  to  liberate   Confederate 

prisoners,    47-50;     arrived    in    the 

thirties,  164 
Mrs.  Judge  B.  S.,  in  charge  of  clothing 

for  Confederate  prisoners,  47 
George  P.,  favorite  poet  of  Middle 

West,  148 
Morrison  brothers,  the,  165 
Mose,  Chanfrau's,  249 
'  'Moses,  mistakes  of,"  313 
"Mowbray,  J.  P."    See  Wheeler,  A.  C. 
"Mucker,^*  204 
Mud  in  Lake  Street,  361 

Lake,  367 
Mulligan,  Col.  James  A.,  or^nizes  the 

Irish  Brigade,  11,  12;  at  Lexington, 

Mo.,  23;  at  Camp  Douglas,  41 
Mrs.  ((Jen.)  J.  A.,  Pension  Agent,  292 
Munn,IraY.,29, 167 
Murder  of  George  Trussell,  141 ;  '  'scoop" 

for  the  Times,  252;    near  Chicago 

University,  323 
Murray,  Adam,  165 


Music  in  Chicago,  war  time  singers, 
117-127;  great  women  musicians, 
170;  musical  criticism,  238;  before 
Theodore  Thomas,  348,  350.  See  also 
Lumbard,  Jules  and  Frank;  Min- 
strels, Opera,  etc.;  Root,  G.  F.; 
Upton,  G.  P. 

Music  Hall,  Smith  &  Nixon's.  See 
Smith  &  Nixon. 

Myers,  Sam.,  comedian,  247 

Myrick,  W.  F.,  165 

Napoleon,  71 
Prince,  235 
"Narcisse,"  play  at  McVicker's,  364 
National    Bankers'    Association    of    the 

West  and  Northwest,  297 
Negro  emancipation.     See  under  Slavery 
Negro,  Irish  reaction  against,  61 
Nelson,  Jack,  PoUce  Gaptain,  144,  147, 

160,  228 
New  England  girls  in  Chicago,  169 
New  Orleans  gambler  at  Camp  Douglas, 

44 
New   Virginia    (or    Virginiaville),     163, 

206 
New  Year's  Day,  1864,  364  et  sea. 
New  York  Battery  of  heavy  artillery,  41 
Central  Raihwad,  258 
Chicagoans  resident  in,  334 
denounces  Bumside's  order,  58 
Evening  Post,  222 
Fire  Zouaves,  14 
Herald,  30 

House,  refuge  from  blizzard,  1863,  366 
State  Legislature,  purchased  draft  of 
Emancipation    Proclamation,     110, 
note 
World  (The),  51,  58 
Newberry,  Walter  C,  arrived  about  1850, 
167 
Walter  L.,  early  arrival,  165;  residence 
on  North  Side,  179 
Newberrys,  old  settlers,  198,  342 
Newspapers,    report   Haverly's    "invest- 
ments" at  the  races,  156;  advertising 
columns  a  reflex  of  city's  business, 
162;  Dearborn  St.  a  centre  for,  185, 
186;     something    about    "scoops," 
251-263;   every  publication  a  part^ 
organ,  283;    Moody  not  taken  seri- 
ously by,  307,  308.    See  also  Demo- 
crat,    Evening    Post,     Inter-Ocean, 
Journal,  Momirig  Post,  Republican, 
Staats-Zeitung,  Times,  Tribune,  etc. 
Nickerson,  S.  M.,  4 
Nielson,  Adelaide,  as  Juliet,  249 


INDEX 


891 


"Nigger  churches."  S«e  Churches,  Aboli- 
tion 
Night  life  b  Chicago,  180 

reporting,  252 
Ninetieth  Illinois  Regiment  ("The  Irish 

Legion"),  97,  98 
Ninety-third  Illinois  Regiment.  41 
Ninth  Illinois  Cavalry    (Brackett's),  41 
North  Avenue,  145,  181 

Branch  of  Chicago  River.    See  North 

Branch 
Chicago  Rolling  MiUs.  181 
Clark  Street,  100,  145 
Division    (or  Side)   of  Chicago.    See 

Chicago 
Levi  J.,  erected  a  hippodrome,  245 
Market  Hall,  11 
Shore  Drive,  163 
"North  Side  Sands,"  cleaning  out  the, 

156-158,  163 
North  Water  Street,  178 
Northern  Democrats,  5 

Pacific  financial  blizzard,  257 
NoTihwestem  Christian  Advocate,  335 
Northwestern    Plank    Road.    See    Mil- 
waukee Avenue 
Sanitary  Commission,  Dr.  Patton  Vice- 
President   of,    93;     Robert   CoUyer 
representative  of,  97;    benefited  by 
Sanitarv  Fairs,  109,  110;  sends  Mrs. 
E.  A.  Porter  to  field  hospital  work, 
116 
Nouveaux  riches,  342 
'Nym  Crinkle."    See  Wheeler,  A.  C. 

Oakhurst,  John,  137 

O'Brien,  W.  W.,  of  Peoria,  83 

Ogden  Avenue  (formerly  Southwestern 
Plank  Road),  181,  359 
Mahlon  D.,  arrived  in  the  thirties, 
165;  residence  on  North  Side,  179; 
at  Hubbard  silver  wedding,  205 
William  B.  (first  mayor),  as  a  presid- 
ing officer,  3;  speaker  on  suppres- 
sion of  Times,  55 ;  arrival  in  the  thir- 
ties, 164;  residence  on  North  Side, 
179 

Ogdens,  old  settlers,  198,  342 

Oglesby,  Gen.  Richard  J.,  Gfovemor  of 
111.,  soldier-orator  in  the  making,  4; 
War  Grovernor,  24;  notifies  govern- 
ment of  excessive  Illinois  draft,  26; 
distinguished  Illinois  soldier,  30 

O'Hara,  Daniel,  4,  186,  228,  264,  266, 
267 

Ohio,  Army  Society  of  the,  212,  216 
troops  for  Civil  War,  26 


"Old  Abe,"  war  eagle  of  the  Eighth  Wis- 
consin Regiment,  34-37 
Old  Guard  (The),  84 
Old  Planters'  House,  St.  Louis,  194 

settlers.     See  Settlers 
"Ole  Shady,"  as  sung  by  Frank  Lum- 

bard,  2.  124-126 
O'Mahony's  Fenian  army,  193 
Onahan,  W.  J.,  4,  11 
One  Hundred  and  Eleventh  Illinois  Regi- 
ment, 41 
Hundred  and  Fifteenth  Illinois  Regi- 
ment, 41 
Hundred  and  Twenty-fifth  New  York 

Regiment,  41 
Hundred  and  Twenty-sixth  New  York 
Regiment,  41 
Ontario  Street,  Rush  and,  179 
Op)era,  grand,  introduced   by  Mapleson 
and  Haverly,  154.  155 
House  restaurant,  210 
selections  from,  348 
Orators  for  the  cause,  notable,  3 

in  the  making,  soldier,  4 
Orchard,  Thomas,  92 
Orme,  Gen.,  42 
Orton,  H.  I.,  of  Wisconsin,  83 
Osborne,  Gen.  Thomas  O.,  Postmaster, 

292 
Ottawa  Light  Artillery,  19 
Owen's  Sdon  Shingle,  249 

Packing  business,  centre  for,  180;   Gur- 
don  S.  Hubbard  first  in,  202 
district,  building  in,  184 

P^,  Peter,  165 
Samuel,  artist,  241 

Painting  and  painters.    Sec  Art 

Palmer,  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.,  succeeded 
by  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.,  187 
Maj.-Gen.  John  M.,  30,  214 
Potter,  as  a  presiding  officer  in  war 
time,  4;  arrived  about  1850,  167; 
succeeded  in  the  dry  goods  business 
by  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.,  187.  See 
also  Palmer,  Field,  Leiter  &  Co. 

Panic  of  1857,  173,  192 
of  1873,  191,  257,  286 

Paris  Universal  Exhibition  of  1867,  286 

Park  Row,  317,  341 

Parker,  Mrs.  N.  H.,  107 

Parmelee,  Frank,  167,  228 

"Partington,  Mrs.,"  letter  to  Sanitary 
Fair,  111 

Patterson,  Robert  W.  (Pastor  of  Second 
Presbyterian  Church),  as  a  war 
orator  3;  supporter  of  the  Union,  96 


sn 


INDEX 


Patton,  W.  W.  (Pastor  of  First  Congre- 
gational Church),  as  a  war  orator, 
3;  work  as  an  Abolitionist,  91,  93 

"Peace  Convention,"  60 

Peacock,  Elijah,  165 
Joseph,  165 

Pearce,  J.  Irving,  257,  258 

Peck,  Ebenezer,  165 

P.  F.  W.,  arrived  in  the  thirties,  165; 
home  finally  occupied  by  Police 
headquarters,  174,  255;  residence 
in  Terrace  Row,  344 

Pecks,  old  settlers,  198 

Peel,  Sir  Robert,  terms  "bobby"  and 
"peeler"  derived  from,  172 

"Peeler,"  origin  of  slang  term,  172 

Pennsylvania  Railroad,  258 

Pension  Agents,  292 

People's  Party,  264-271,  302 

Peoria,  III.,  122,  311 

"Peregrine  Pickle."    See  Upton,  G.  P. 

Petersburg,  Grant's  operation  before,  87 

Phettyplace,  Capt.,  42 

Philadelphia  Record,  336 

Philanthropy,  280,  281 

Phillips,  G«orge  S.  ("January  Searle"), 
95,  231-236 
Capt.  J.  C,  11,  42 

Pierce,  Asabel,  166 

Pinkerton,  Allan,  extreme  Abolitionist,  64 

Plainfield  Light  Artillery,  19 

Plank  Roads,  the  old,  180-182 

Plant,  Roger,  159,  160,  353 

Poetry,  early  Chicago,  236-238 

Police  Department.     See  under  Chicago 

Polish  laborers,  9 

Pohtics,  of  Germans  and  Irish,  6-10; 
People's  Party  regime,  264-271;  in 
formative  days  of  Lincoln,  273 
present  ideals  higher  than  past,  278 
affected  by  Civil  War,  289-295 
"Spoils  of  war,"  289-295;  Dixon's 
"Irish  Republicans,"  293-295 

Politics  of  war  time.  See  under  Civil 
War  (political  strife) 

"Pohuto."    See  Wilkie,  Franc  B. 

Polk  Street,  13 

Pomeroy,  "Brick,"  72,  81 

Pope,  Maj.-Gen.  John,  30,  214 

Population.     See  under  Chicago 

Porter,  Mrs.  Eliza  A.,  army  nurse,  116 
Mrs.  Elizabeth,  106 
Hibbard,  166 
H.  H.,  167 
Rev.  Jeremiah,  362 

Post,  73,  332.  See  cdso  Evening  Post, 
Morning  Post 


Post  OflBce.    See  under  Chicago 

Postmaster,  office  of,  291 

Potter,  O.  W.,  168, 18 

Powell,  Maud,  348  . 

Powers,  Fred  Perry,  reporter,  editorial 

writer,  and  Washington  correspond- 
ent of  Tivws,  336,  337 
Prairie,  boimding  Court  House  Square, 

173;  areas  of,  181 
schooners,  230 
Pratt,  George,  335 

Prentiss,  Maj.-Gren.  Benjamin  M.,  30 
Presbyterian  Church,  Greneral  Assembly 

of,  68;  building  used  for  "cancan," 

266 
Churches.    See  First,  Second,  Third, 

etc. 
creed  affected  by  IngersoU,  312,  315 
President,  Lincoln's  nomination  for,  274 
Presiding  officers,  3,  4 
Press,  Dr.  C.  H.  Ray,  editor  of,  276 
Press  Club,  Times  on  site  of,  252 
Preussing,  Ernst,  10 
Price,  Gen.,  Milligan  surrenders  to,  41 
Price's  livery  stable,  142,  369 
Prince  of  Wales,  Edward.    See  Edward, 

King 
Prindeville,  John  and  Redmond,  11,  165, 

166 
"Promoter,"  a  species  nurtured  in  Chi- 
cago, 154 
Promoters,  Col.  Bowen  one  of  Chicago's 

really  great,  287 
Provost  Marshal's  blunders  with  regard 

to  troops,  26 
Public  officers,   men  of  high  character 

now  demanded  for,  277 
Pullman    Company    stock,    257;     build 

manufacturing  town,  560 
George  M.,  name  familiar  to-day,  168; 

connection    with    Third    National 

Bank,  257,  259 
location  of  town  of,  260-263 
"Pullman's  Bank."    See  Third  National 
Pulpit  as  a  war  force,  90 

"Quincy  No.  9,"  177 
Quirk,  Capt.  Daniel,  11 

Racing.    See  Horse  racing 

Raftsmen  on  Western  rivers,  6 

Railroad  stations  rookeries,  196 

"Rail-spUtter  of  Illinois,"  329 

Randolph  County,  111.,  26 

Street,  "faro"  played  on,  44;  Court 
House  entrance  on,  53;  McCormick 
block,  S,  E.  comer  of  Dearborn  and. 


INDEX 


898 


Randolph  Street — continued 

74;  boundary  of  Court  House 
Square,  82;  rendezvous  for  gamblers, 
etc..  188,  Hi;  Times  in  *liair-trig- 
ger"  block  between  Dearborn  and 
SUte,  142;  Matteson  House  at  N. 
W.  comer  of  Dearborn  and,  145; 
"keno"  between  Clark  and  State  on, 
150;  buildinp  in  1862  on,  175-177; 
boundary  of  business  area,  183; 
Times  leaves  for  Dearborn,  185,  252; 
intersection  of  Dearborn  and,  186; 
Lloyd  block  at  N.  W.  cor.  of  Wells 
and,  193;  Matteson  House  at  N.  W. 
cor.  of  Randolph  and  Dearborn,  194; 
Schuttler's  wagon  factory,  Randolph 
and  Franklin  Sts.,  196;  "Wigwam" 
between  Randolph  and  Lake  Sts., 
196;  Wiggers'  picture  frame  shop 
on,  234;  intersection  with  La  Salle 
St.,  345;    near  Franklin  365,  366 

Randolph  Street  (West),  312 

Ranne^  Mrs.  O.  D.,  106 

Rapp,  Friedrich,  10 

Rawlins,  Maj.-Gen.  John  A.,  63,  214 

Ray,  Dr.  Charles  H.,  editor  of  Chicago 
Press  and  Tribune,  239;  tribute  to 
Lincoln's  character,  276 

Raymond,  B.  W.,  arrives  in  the  thirties, 
164 
W.  B.,  13 

Real  estate,  prices  affected  by  movements 
of  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.,  188;  by 
craze  of  1836-37,  202;  by  panic  of 
1873;  by  location  of  town  of  Pull- 
man, 260-262;  land  the  road  to 
riches,  281 

Rebel  army  advancing  North,  23 
flag,  Ellsworth  hauls  down,  14 
host  in  Chicago,  1 
prisoners     at    Camp    Douglas.      See 

Camp  Douglas 
sympatnizers  m  Southern  Illinois,  17 

Recruiting  and  equipping  of  troops.  Gov- 
ernment undertakes,  22,  23 
camp  (temporary).     See  Camp  Doug- 
las (temporary  barracks) 
tents,  2 

Reed,  Charles  H.,  spectacular  career  as 

Erosecuting      attorney,      321;      the 
.incoln    "seance,"    322,   324,  327, 
330 
Rees,  James  H.,  166 

Religion  m  the  Middle  West,  98.    See 
also  Churches,  Freethinkers,  Inger- 
soll.  Ministers,  Moody,  etc. 
Renwick's  Elgin  Battery,  29 


Reporters,  moralists  by  nature,  148; 
mania  for  "scoops,"  251;  night  vi^ 
advanced,  256;  in  partnership  with 
onmiscience,  287;  and  the  "Irish 
Republicans,"  294,  295.  See  also 
Newspapers,  "Scoops" 

Reporting,  first  society,  353  et  seq. 

Republican  (later  the  Inter-Ocean),  185; 
Fred  Hall  a  writer  for,  239;  Charley 
Wright  reporter  for,  256 

Republican  National  Convention,  1860, 
1,  273-275 
orators,  4 

party  of  Illinois,  228 
press  ado  over  Richmond  House  an- 
nouncement, .88 
State  Central  Committee,  286 

Republicans.  See  under  Civil  War, 
('  'Irish  Republicans,"  political 
strife) 

Resorts,  Dearborn  Street  centre  for,  185. 
See  also  "Young  America" 

Restaurants  in  Dearborn  Street,  186. 
See  also  Matteson  House  CafS, 
Resorts,  "Young  America,"  etc. 

Retail  trade,  new  centre  on  State  St.,  185, 
189 

Rice,  Billy,  minstrel  performer,  245 
Dan,  better  known  than  the  President, 

245 
John  A.,  300 

John  B.,  Mayor,  as  a  presiding  officer, 
3;  defeated  F.  C.  Sherman  for  office, 
60;  reception  to  Sherman  and  Grant, 
114;  arrived  in  the  forties,  167; 
actor-manager,  244;  his  daughters, 
353;  residence,  353  et  seq. 
Miss,  354  et  seq. 

Rice's  Theatre,  186 

"Richani  III,"  246 

Richardson,  Illinois  Senator,  81 

Richmond  House,  announces  "Cot  ac- 
commodations only,  "  88;  on  South 
Water  St.  and  Michigan  Ave.,  194 

Richmond,  McClellan  before,  23 
Solomon  Sturges'  desire  for  capture  of, 

107 
Thomas,  friend  of  Abraham  Lincoln, 
89;   arrived  in  the  thirties,  166 

Rickey,  John,  in  Lumbard  quartette,  126 

Ringgold  Place.  See  Twenty-second 
Street  179 

"Rip  Van  Winkle,"  Jefferson  in,  90,  249 

Ristori,  246 

Riverside,  261,  302 

Riverview,  38 

Roads,  old  plank,  180-182 


8M 


INDEX 


Robbery,  American  Express  Company's, 

255 
Robinson,  Chief  Alexander,  208 

Mrs.  F.  W.,  106 
"Rock  of  Chickamauga."    See  Thomas, 

Gen.  Greorge  H. 
Rockefeller  endowments,  94 
Rockford,  lU.,  122 
Roepenach,  actor  at  German  Theatre, 

247 
Rolling     Mills,     North     Chicago.    See 

North  Chicago,  etc. 
"Romance,  A  Haixiscrabble,"  359 
Root,  George  F.,  inestimable  services  as 

a  war-time  singer,  118;  writes  "The 

Battle-cry  of  Freedom,"  120 
Root  &  Cady's  music  store,  175 
Rosehill  Cemetery,  237 
Ross,  Hugh,  166 

Rossiter,  W.,  extreme  Abolitionist,  64 
Roustabouts,  Irish,  7 
Rumsey,  George  F.,  166 
Julian  A.,  on  Union  Defence  Com- 
mittee, 18 
Julian  S.  (Mayor  at  outbreak  of  war), 

as  a  presiding  oflBcer,  3;  defeats  T. 

B.  Bryan,  59;  arrived  in  the  thirties, 

164 
Rush  and  Ontario  Streets,  179;  and  Kin- 

zie  Street,  195 
Street  bridge,  196 
Russell,  Edward  Hanson,  92 
Henry,  167 
Col.  J.  B.  F.,  166 
Ryder,  W.  H.  (Pastor  St.  Paul's  Uni- 

versalist    Church),    war   orator,    3; 

acknowledges  aid  of  Dr.  Everts,  94; 

most  gifted  minister  of  his  denomi- 
nation next  to  Chapin,  96 
Ryerson,  Joseph  T.,  arrived  in  the  forties, 

167 

Sage  of  Princeton,  278 

Sage,  Russell,  283 

St.  Clair  County,  111.,  26 

St.  James  Episcopal  Church,  under  Dr. 
Clarkson's  rectorate,  91;  Soldiers' 
Memorial  in,  92 

St.  Louis,  capture  of  the  arsenal  at,  20; 
sports  attend  opening  of  "Sunny- 
side,"  143;  important  trading  centre, 
201;  proposed  as  site  for  Rillman, 
260;  families  of  wealth,  842 

St.  Patrick's  Church,  Dennis  Dunne, 
pastor  of,  97 

St.  Paul's  Universalist  Church,  W.  H. 
Ryder  pastor  of,  91,  95 


Salem  Scudder  of  J.  H.  McVicker,  249 

Saltonstall,  F.  G.,  166 
WUliam  W.,  166 

Salvation  Army  methods,  306 

Sanderson,  G.  C,  83 

Sandwich  Company,  19 
Islands,  King  of,  268 

Sanitary  Commission,  Northwestern.  See 
Northwestern 
Fair  of  1863,  "Old  Abe"  at,  35;  draft 
of  Emancipation  Proclamation  con- 
tributed by  Lincoln,  109;  watch 
presented  to  Lincoln  by  I.  N.  Ar- 
nold, 110 
Fair  of  1865,  to  aid  Soldiers'  Home 
and  Sanitary  Commission,  110; 
building  and  contributions.  111,  112; 
reception  to  Grant  and  Sherman, 
113-115 

Sayers,  Mrs.  Henry,  106 

Scammon,  J.  Y.,  arrived  in  the  thirties, 
166;  residence  in  Terrace  Row, 
344 

Scandinavian  population,  10 

Schilling,  Alexander,  242 

Schmidt,  Dr.  Ernst,  supports  the  war,  10; 
socialistic  tendencies,  102;  runs  for 
Mayor,  103 

Schneider,  George,  10,  18,  167 

Schofield,  Maj.-Gen.  John  M.,  30,  212, 
214,  220,  221 

Schuttler,  Peter,  loyal  German,  10;  ar- 
rived in  the  thirties,  166;  residence 
on  South  Side,  180;  wagon  factory, 
196 

"Scoops,"  something  about,  251,  357,  358 

Scotcmnan,  allegorical  painter,  241 

Scott,    Greneral,    entertained    at    Lake 
House,  195 
Greorge,  166 
G.  L.,  29 
Col.  Joseph  R.,  14 

Scottish  Regiment,  Cameron's,  41 

Sculpture,  242 

"Seance,  Lincob,"  321-330 

Secession.    See  under  Civil  War. 

Second    Baptist    Church,    reconstructed 
from  First  Church  building,  174 
Vermont  Battery,  41 
Ward,  293 

Seipp,  Conrad,  167 

Semmes,  Capt.  Raphael  S.,  48,  49 

Serenade,  355-357 

Settlers  (Old),  Roll  call  of,  163-168; 
"oldest  settler"  celebration,  197- 
210,  342 

Seward,  W.  H.,  nominated  by  Evarts,  J74 


INDEX 


395 


Seymour,  Horatio  VV.,  of  the  Chicago 
Times,  Herald,  Chronicle,  and  New 
York  World,  335,  837 

Shakespeare,  dominated  dramatic  stage, 
246 

"Sharp  Comer,  The,"  345-351 

Shaw,  Annie  C,  242 

Sheehan,  James  W.,  4,  11,  239,  332 

Sheldon,  Edwin  H.,  167 

Shepley,  Mrs.  J.  C,  106 

Sheridan.  Gen.  Phil.,  175;  quartered  at 
Tremont  House.  212;  at  Army  Re- 
union of  1868,  214,  215,  220 

Sherman,  A.  S.,  164 
detective,  256 
E.  B.,  editor  of  The  Voice  of  the  Fair, 

112 
Francis  C.  (Mayor),  presided  at  Times 
meeting,  55;  defeated  C.  N.  Holden 
and  T.  B.  Bryan,  59;  defeated  by 
J.  B.  Rice,  60;  arrived  in  the  thirties, 
64;  manufacturer  of  bricks,  thrice 
mayor,  owner  of  Sherman  House, 
207 
Gen.  Francis  T.,  60,  292 
House,  headquarters  for  leaders  of 
Democratic  National  Convention  of 
1864,  80,  82;  finest  building  in  city, 
1862,  173;  frame  buildings  adjoin- 
ing, 176;  opened  in  1860.  194;  Gage 
brothers  at,  195;  owned  by  F.  C. 
Sherman,  207;  General  Thomas 
quartered  at,  212;  conference  of 
"People's  Party,"  269;  David  A. 
Gage  mine  host  extraordinary  at, 
300;  in  blizzard  of  1863,  366 
John  B.,  167 

Gen.  William  Teciunseh,  originally  a 
Democrat,  84;  at  Atlanta,  88;  at 
Sanitary  Fair,  113-115;  "ranked" 
by  Mother  Bickerdyke,  116;  at 
Army  Reunion  of  1868,  212,  214, 
217,  220;  wearied  of  "Marching 
through  Georgia,"  356 
Mrs.  W.  T.,  supervises  department  of 
Sanitary  Fair,  110 

Shields's  Guards,  12 

Shipping  on  the  river,  184 

Shopping  district.  Lake  Street,  183; 
aianged  to  State  Street,  185 

Shot-tower  near  Lake  and  Desplaines 
Streets,  192 

Shurley,  Capt.,  42,  50 

Sickles,  Gen.,  a  Democrat,  84 

Singer  Company  building  occupied  by 
Field,  Leiter  &  Co.,  188,  189 

Singers  in  war  time,  117-127 


Singleton,  Gen.,  54,  81 
Skinner,  Frank  M.,  92 
Judge  Mark,  on  Union  Defence  Com- 
mittee,   18;    member  of  St.  James 
Episcopal    Church,    92;     gave    for 
relief  of  soldiers,  108;  arrived  in  the 
thirties,    166;    residence  on   North 
Side,  179;    at  Hubbard  silver  wed- 
ding, 205 
Slaughter  houses.    See  Bridgeport,  Union 

Stock  Yards,  etc. 
Slave  songs,  123.    See  also  "Ole  Shady" 
Slavery.    See  under  Civil  War  (political 

strife) 
Sla^aker,  Miss  L.  B.,  army  nurse,  105 
Sleighing  pwpular,  145 
Sleightly,  Annette,  army  nurse,  105 
Sloan,  Mrs.  Col.,  106 
Slocum,  Gen.,  a  Democrat,  84;  at  Army 

Reunion  of  1868,  214 
Smith,  Arthur  A.,  30 

Charles,  in  Lumbard  ouartette,  126 
Chicago   officers    of   uiat    name,  SO, 

31 
Franklin  C,  80 
George,   the  West's   most  prominent 

banker,  166 
Gen.  George  W.,  290 
Gerritt,  110,  note 
Maj.-Gen.  Giles  A.,  SO 
Prof.   Goldwin,   presents  painting  to 

Sanitary  Fair,  111 
Gustavus  A.,  30 
Hopkinson,  "Colonel  Carter  of  Carters- 

viUe,"  86 
John  C,  30 

Maj.-Gen.  John  E.,  30,  63 
Mark,  249 
Robert  F.,  SO 
Robert  W.,  30 
Judge  Sidney,  3 
Sol  A.,  167 

&  Nixon's  Music  Hall,  173,  186 
Snow,  George  W.,  166 
Snowhook,  William  B.,  166 
Snow  storm,  1863,  363 
Sociable,  an  early,  352  et  sea. 
Social  events.  See  under  Hubbard,  Gur- 
don  S.,  Rice,  J.  B. 
evil  in  Chicago,  157.    See  also  "North 
Side  Sands,"  "Sunnyside,"  "Under 
the  Willow,"  Underworld,  The 
Socialists  in  Chicago,  102,  103,  191.    See 

also  Schmidt,  Dr.  Ernst. 
Society  affairs,  352  et  seq. 

as  a  censor  of  morals,  140 
Soldier  orators  in  the  making.  4 


396 


INDEX 


Soldiers,  Dr.  G)llyer's  efforts  in  behalf 
of,  96;    work    of    the  women  for, 
104-116;  effect  of  bounties  on  morals 
of,  134 
in  politics,  289-292 

"Soldiers'  Home,"  founded,  106;  re- 
ceives draft  of  Emancipation  Procla- 
mation, 109;  receives  part  proceeds 
of  Sanitary  Fair,  110 

Soldiers'  Memorial  in  St.  James's  Church, 
92 

"Soldiers'  Rest,"  106,  109 

Solomon,  Gen.  E.  S.,  clerk  District  Court, 
292 

Solon  Shingle,  Owen's,  249 

Songs,  war,  born  in  Chicago,  119.  See 
also  "Battle  Cry  of  Freedom,"  etc. 

Sons  of  Libert?,  48 

"Sophocles,"  Donoghue's,  242 

Sothern  as  Dundreary,  249 

South   Branch  of  Chicago   River.    See 
Chicago  River. 
Chicago,  286,  287 
Division  or  Side.    See  Chicago 
Water  Street,  business  area  bounded 
by,  183;  Board  of  Trade,  184;  Gil- 
bert  Hubbard    building,  comer  of 
Wells  and,  193;    Richmond  House, 
comer  of  Michigan  Ave.  and,  194; 
first  warehouse  on,  202,  370 

Southern  House,  St.  Louis,  194 
rebellion.    See  under  Civil  War  (poUt- 
ical  strife) 

Southerners,  Irishmen's  affinity  for,  9; 
gambling  exploited  in  Chicago  by, 
128,  136 

Southwestern  Plank  Road.  See  Ogden 
Avenue 

Spaulding,  Jesse,  168 

Speakers  at  Democratic  National  Con- 
vention of  1864,  80-84 
at  war  rallies,  10 

Spear,  Isaac,  watch  maker,  166,  371 

Spencer,  F.  F.,  167 

Spiritual  heredities,  275 

Spoils  of  war,  289-295 

"Sport,"  professional  in  early  sixties, 
136 

Sporting  characters,  favorite  resorts  in 
Dearbom  Street,  186 

Springfield,  lUinois,  3,  16,  19,  26,  28,  122 
Light  Artillery,  29 

Staats-Zeitung,  185,  264 

Stage  coaches  in  the  West,  owners  of,  165 

Stage,  the.    See  Actors,  Theatre,  etc. 

Stambaugh,  of  Ohio,  83 

Stanton,  Secretary,  call  for  troops,  23 


"Star-Spangled   Banner,"  sung  at  Re- 
publican rallies,  2,  85 

State  Bank  of  Illinois,  202 
Historian  of  Illinois,  228 
Street,  53,  142;    becomes  city's  retail 
centre,  185-190;  City  Hotel  on,  194 

Steams,  Marcus  C,  29,  166 

Steel,  George,  29,  166 

Steele,  Jonathan  W.,  166 
Mrs.  J.  W.,  106 
Samuel,  335 

Stephens,  Capt.  "Jack,"  Clerk  Criminal 
Court,  292 

Stereotyping  forms,  Chicago's  first  essay 
at,  252 

Stemer,  Albert,  242 

Stewart,  A.  T.,  of  New  York,  189 
David,  167 
Gen.  Hart  L.,  166 

Stiles,  Gen.  I.  N.,  City  Attomey,  290, 
292,  311 

Stock  company  of  twentieth  century,  250 
Exchange  building,  175 
Yards.     See  Union  Stock  Yards 

Stockton,  Gen.  Joseph,  290 

Stokes,  Capt.  James  H.,  21,  22 

Stone,  H.  O.,  166 
Leander,  335 

Col.  Samuel,  Assistant  Sec'y  and  Libra- 
rian of  Chicago  Historical  Society, 
109,  note 

Stoneman,  General,  214 

Storey,  Wilbur  F.    (owner  and  editor  of 
the  Times),  during  the  suppression 
of  the  Times  by  Burnside,  51,  53 
Democrats  not  apologetic  for,   72 
as   a    "Copperhead"    speaker,    81 
arrived  in  1861,  168;   did  not  con- 
sult counting  room,  190;  lending  a 
hand  at  a  "scoop,"  253;  withholding 
his  hand  from  the  Pullman  "scoop," 
262;    impressed   by  idea  of  direct 
grain    shipment    to    Europe,    287; 
"Copperheadism"    and    character, 
331-338;  edict  on  society  "scoops," 
358.    See  also  Times 

Storrs,  Emory,  notable  orator  for  the 
cause,  3;  name  familiar  to-day, 
168;  opinion  on  "Nancy"  Arnold, 
324 

Story-telling  by  coimtry  merchants,  161, 
162 

Strachan,  Patrick,  166 

Streat,  Harry,  246 

Street  life  in  Chicago,  131, 132 

Streets.    See  under  Chicago 

Strong,  Col.,  42 


INDEX 


897 


"Slurges  Rifles,"  107 

Sturces,  Solomon,  gifts  to  the  war,  107 

\^liiain,  29 
Sturtevant,  A.  D.,  15* 
"Summer  gardens"  near  Camp  Doug- 
las, 88 
Summit,  301 

Sumter,  Fort.     See  Fort  Sumter 
Sunday   afternoon    concerts    at   Turner 
Hail,  348 
afternoon  parade,  339 
night  dances  in  Lloyd  block,  193 
observance  of,  99-103;   pleasure  seek- 
ers, 181 
theatre  supported  by  Germans,  100 
Sunday  Tribune,  238 
"Sunnyside"  in  Lake  View,  opening  of, 

143-149 
"Swallow-tails,"    worn    by    Dr.    N.    S. 
Davis,  65;    by  old  settlers  at  Hub- 
bard silver  wedding,  205 
Sweet,  Miss  Ada,  Pension  Agent,  292 
Gen.   J.    B.,    commander    at    Camp 
Douglas,  42,  43,  49;  Pension  Agent, 
292 
Swett,  Leonard,  "Mejum"  No.  1  in  Lin- 
coln "Seance,"  823-330 
Swift,  Gen.  H.  K.,  14,  16,  17,  19,  166 

Taine,  author  of  "French  Revolution," 

76 
Talcott,  E.  B.,  166 

Mancel,  166 
"Tall  Sycamore  of  the  Wabash,"  80 
Tanneries  on  North  Branch,  181 
Taylor,  A.  D.,  Ezra  Daniel,  and  William 
H.,  165 
Beniamin  F.,  poet,  227,  236-238 
Reuben,  166 

Maj.  Woodbury  M.,  Clerk  Supreme 
Court,  292 
Taylor's  Hotel,  Jersey  City,  322 
Tea,  first  carload  brought  by  Union  Pa- 
cific Railroad,  266 
Telegraph,  335 

Temperature,  lowest  in  1863,  363 
Terrace  Row  ("The  Marble  Terrace"), 
where  the  Auditorium  now  stands, 
195,     196;      "palatial    residences," 
234;  described,  341-344 
Terry,  General,  214 
Thatcher,  David  A.,  166 
Theatre-goinc  a,  serious  business,  246 
Theatres,  only  one  American  in  middle 
sixties,  101,  103;   two  in  1857,  244; 
opened  at  7:30,  247.     See  also  Cros- 
by's Opera  House,  Grerman  Theatre, 


McVi'cker's  Theatre,  Rice's  Theatre. 
Wood's  Museum  and  Theatre;  alto 
Actors,  Ballet,  Minstrels,  Music, 
Opera,  etc. 

Third    National    Bank,    liquidation    of, 
257-260;  organized  by  J.  H.  Boweo, 
286 
Presbyterian  Church,  68 

Thirty-fifth  Street,  178 

Thirty-first  Illinois  Infantry,  23 

Thirty-fourth  Street.  41 

Thirty-ninth  and  Sixty-sixth  Ohio  regi- 
ments, 41 

Thirty-ninth  Illinois  Regiment,  41 

Thirty-second  Street,  179 

Thomas,  Gen.  George  H.,  originally  a 
Democrat,  84;  at  the  Sherman 
House,  212;  at  Army  Reunion  of 
1868,  214-216,  220 
Theodore,  sunmier  night  concerts,  345, 
348 

Thompson,  Daniel,  167 
Jacob,  alleged  conspiracy  of,  49 

,   of  Chicago    Board  of    Trade, 

29 

Tliroop,  A.  G.,  167 

TiflFany,  O.  H.  (Methodist  minister),  as 
a  war  orator,  3,  95 

Times,  suppression  by  Bumside,  51-58; 
report  of  N.  S.  Davis'  speech  before 
"Invincible  Club,"  67;  a  semi-seces- 
sion paper,  73,  74;  account  of  Dem- 
ocratic demonstration,  82;  in  centre 
of  "hair-trigger"  block,  142;  leaves 
Randolph  St.,  185,  252;  report  of 
dissolution  of  Field,  Leiter  &  Co., 
190-192;  attitude  towards  Logan, 
226;  F.  B.  Wilkie  musical  critic  for, 
238;  actor  graduates  from  composing 
room  of,  247;  inauguration  of  society 
reporting  in  Chicago,  353  et  seq.; 
some  important  "scoops"  for,  252- 
263;  report  of  People's  Party  con- 
ference, 269;  published  IngersoU's 
lectures,  311-313;  influences  deter- 
mining "Copperhead  "  position,  331; 
under  direction  of  W.  H.  Storey, 
332-338.     See  also  Storey,  W.  F. 

Tinkham,  E.  I.  and  D.  O.,  166 
Mrs.  Smith,  106 

ToUe,  Gfeorge,  surgical  instruments, 
175 

Tragedy  of  popularity,  296 
staple  pabulum,  246 

Transit  House,  368 

Tree,  Lambert,  168 

Trees,  abundance  in  Chicago,  177 


INDEX 


Tremont  House,  arrival  of  Kentucky 
Delegation  at,  86,  87;  Union  senti- 
ment outspoken  at,  130;  Ira  and 
James  Couch  hosts  at,  165;  raising  of, 
168;  oppositetheJoumo/ office,  185; 
under  J.  B.  Drake,  194;  under  the 
Gage  brothers,  195,  300;  during 
Army  Reunion  of  1868, 212, 218,  220; 
had  a  mortgage  on  everything  Re- 
publican, 301 

Tribune,  report  on  Irish  Brigade,  3; 
affected  by  suppression  of  Times,  52- 
57;  outspoken  anti-slavery  paper, 
73,  74;  removed  from  Clark  St.,  185; 
report  of  Army  Reunion,  217-222; 
of  Logan's  campaign  for  Congress- 
man, 223;  connection  with  Greorge 
P.  Upton,  Dr.  C.  H.  Ray,  Fred  Hall, 
and  Horace  White,  238,  239;  Shake- 
spearean critics  in  composing  room  of, 
246;  "Uncle  Joe"  Medill  "scoops," 
257;  H.  D.  Lloyd  connected  with, 
261;  Dr.  Charles  H.  Ray,  editor, 
276;  Moody  invades  office  of,  308; 
grip  on  advertising,  333 

Trumbull,  Lyman,  as  a  war  orator,  3; 
speaker  on  the  suppression  of  the 
Times,  55-58 

Tnissell,  George,  gambler,  138;  owner 
of  "Dexter,"  141;  murdered  by 
Mollie  McKeever,  142,  143 

Trust,  better  taskmaster  than  individual 
employer,  282 

Tucker,  Col.  Joseph  H.,  41 

Tuley,  Judge  Murray  F.,  as  a  presiding 
officer,  4;  speaker  on  suppression 
of  Tim£s,  55;  arrived  in  the  forties, 
167 

Tully,  John,  11 

Turkeys  stuffed  with  revolvers,  42 

Turner,  Capt.,  42 

Hall,  North  Clark  Street,  348 
John,  166 
John  B.,  167 
John  M.,  166 
Sam,  228 

Sam,  Clerk  of  the  Tremont  House,  86, 
87 

Tiuners,  Grerman,  19 

Tuttle,  Frederick,  166 
Mrs.  J.  H.,  106 
Nelson,  166 

Twelfth  Illinois  Battery,  41 
Street,  10,  196 

Twentieth  Street,  359 

Twenty-first  Illinois  Infantry,  Gen.  Grant 
in  command  of,  110 


Twenty-ninth    United   States   Infantry, 

(Colored  Troops),  28 
Twenty-second  Street  (Ringgold  Place), 

179,  301;  region  south  of,  367 

'  'Uncle  Abe  "  325 

"Under  the  WiUow,"  159,  160,  352,  354 
Underground  railroad,  68,  136,  325 
Underworld,  the,  128-160 
Union  Cadets  (German  Turners),  19 
Defence  Committee,  18,  286 
National  Bank,  174,  185,  257,  297 
Pacific    Railroad,    building    of,    134; 

completion  of,  286 
Park,  181 

Stock  Yards,  occupy  portion  of  '  'Long 
John  tract,"  179;  fire  at,  368 
United    States    Commissioner    to    Paris 
Universal  Exposition  of  1867,  286 
Sanitary  Commission,  110,  note 
Zouave  Cadets,  14 
Unity  Church,  Robert  CoUyer's  preach- 
ing  in,   96,    97.    See  also  Collyer, 
Robert 
'  'Unpitying  grandeur,"  344 
Upright,  Mrs.,  of  Rockford,  105 
Upton,  Greorge  P.  ("Peregrine  Pickle"), 
account  of  "The  Battle  Cry  of  Free- 
dom," 120;   as  an  essayist  and  mu- 
sical critic,  238 
Urbana,  lU.,  122 

Vallandigham,  C.  L.,  Democratic  party 
not  apologetic  for,  72;  leader  of 
Democratic  National  Convention, 
1864,  80;  debate  with  "Long  John" 
Wentworth,  81 

Van  Allen,  John  J.,  82 

Van  Arman,  Col.  John,  as  a  war  orator, 
3;  on  the  Union  Defence  Com- 
mittee, 18 

Van  Buren  Street,  131,  232,  339 

Vandalia,  201 

Van  Higgins,  Judge  H.,  55,  56 

Van  Osdell,  John  M.,  166 

Vice-Presidents,  10 

Vicksburg,  the  Lumbards  at,  124 

Views  from  the  Court  House  dome,  177 

Virginiaville.    See  New  Virginia 

Vdce  of  the  Fair,  112,  113 

Wabash  Avenue,  tree-lined,  177;    Lake 
St.  and,  193;    near  Van  Buren  St., 
232;     near   Adams    St.,    353,    355; 
residences  on,  339,  356 
River,  201 

Wading  an  alternative  for  walking,  182 


INDEX 


8M 


Wadswortb,  Elijah  I.  and  Julius,  166 

Mrs.  E.  S.,  106 
Wahl.  Louis,  10 
Waite,  C.  C.  800 
George  W.,  166 
Walker,  Charles,  166 
Curran,  166 
C.  H.,  Jr.,  29 
Gilbert  C.  4 

Mrs.,  residence  in  Terrace  Row,  344 
James  M.,  168 
Samuel  B..  166 
Walkers,     owners     of     Western     stage 

coaches,  165 
Wall  Street  Journal,  336 
Wallace,   Gen.  M.  R.  M.,  4;    County 

Judge,  290,  292 
Waller,  Mrs.  Emma,  246 
Walsh,     "Brigadier-General"     Charles, 
48,49 
John   R.,   as   a  presiding  officer,    4; 
stood  for  the  cause  of  the  Union,  11 ; 
arrived  in  the  forties,  167;  newspa- 
per and  book  stand,  235 
Walters,  Horace,  300 
"War  Democrat,"  5 

War  Department,  recruiting  ceased  by 
order  of,  27 
songs,  2 
"War  widow,"  134,  135 
Ward's  Rolling  MUl,  181 
Warren,  William,  comedian,  249 
Washburne,  E.  B.,  came  from  Galena,  63 
Washington  County,  111.,  26 
Washington,  Lee  sends  force  to,  88 
Street,  as  a  boundary  of  Court  House 
Square,  82,  173,  175;  Board  of  Trade 
at  intersection  with   LaSalle,    184; 
the  Times  at  intersection  with  Mad- 
ison, 185;   retail  centre  at  intersec- 
tion with  State,  187;  buildings  south 
of,  195;   tunnel,  196;   winter  circus 
and  minstrels  on,  245;  east  of  Clark, 
339;  to  Park  Row,  341 
Waterman,  Col.  A.  N.,  Judge,  292 
Watkins,  John,  166 
Waukegan,  324 
"Way  Down  Upon  the  Suwanee  River," 

350 
Wealth  in  land,  281 
Webster,  Mrs.  C.  C.,  106 

Daniel,  entertained  at  Lake  House,  195 
Gen.  Joseph  D.,   166;    Collector  In- 
ternal Revenue,  292 
Welland  Canal  in  process  of  building,  288 
Wells  Street  (South),  name  changed  to 
Fifth    Avenue,     158;     intersection 


with  Soutli  Water  St.,  193;  with 
Randolph  St.,  193;  near  Monroe  St., 
245 

Wentworth  Avenue,  179 

"Long  John,"  Mayor,  as  a  war 
orator,  3;  defeated  bv  W.  S. 
Gurnee,  59;  debate  with  Vallan- 
digham,  81;  cleaned  out  "North 
Side  Sands,"  156-T59;  hero  of 
Western  romance,  162,  163;  arrived 
in  the  thirties,  164;  kept  the  "cop- 
per" down  to  business,  172;  owner 
of  "Long  John  tract,"  179,  301;  at 
Hubbard  silver  wedding,  205;  pro- 
prietor of  old  "Jackson  Hall,"  252 

Wentworths,  old  settlers,  198 

West,  exuberant  spirit  of,  240 

West  Side  Driving  Park,  154 

Western  Army  Headquarters,  176 
Avenue,  181 

"Western  Reserve"  in  Ohio,  71 

Western  Union  Telegraph  Company,  175 
vernacular,  227 

Wheeler,  A.  C,  city  editor  of  The  Morn- 
ing Post,  231,  232 

Whistler    family,    intimately    associated 
with  Chicago,  170 
James  McNeil,  170 

"White  Fawn,"  played  after  the  war,  248 

White,  Horace,  Editor  of  the  Tribune, 
222 

Whitney  Street,  97 

Wholesale  trade  in  Lake  Street,  183;  in 
Wabash  and  Michigan  Avenues,  185 

Wicker,  C.  G.,  18,  166 
Joel,  166 

Wiggers'  picture  frame  and  looking-glass 
shop,  234 

"Wigwam,"  on  Market  between  Ran- 
dolph and  Lake  Streets,  196;  Leon- 
ard Swett  at,  329.  See  also  Republi- 
can National  Convention,  1860 

Wilkie.  Franc  B.,  238 

Willard,  Alonzo,  166 
E.  W.,  18,  166 

Williams,  Barney,  Irish  comedian,  249 

Willis,  N.  P.,  favorite  poet  of  Middle 
West,  148 

Wilson,  John  L.,  Sheriff,  158,  166 

Judge  John  M.,  as  a  presiding  officer, 
3;  on  the  Union  Defence  Committee, 
18;  arrived  in  the  thirties,  166 

Windsor,  Canada,  49 

Windsor,  W.,  201 

Winnetka,  5 

Winter  circus,  245 

Winter  of  1863,  363  et  seq. 


400 


INDEX 


Wisconsin  Eagle  Regiment.    See  Eighth 
Wisconsin  Regiment 
regiments  in  Chicago,  33 
Wolcott,  Alexander,  166 

E.  G.,  29 
Women  in  the  Civil  War,  work  of,  104- 
116 
musicians,  two  greatest,  170 
who    kept    "establishments,"    139   et 
seq. 
Wood,  Peter  Preston,  92 
Wood  versus  marble  as  building  material, 

343 
Woodman,  C.  L.,  4 
Wood's  Museum  and  Theatre,  245 
Woodworth,  Mrs.  J.  H.,  106 
Wright,  Charles  Northrup,  city  editor  of 
Times,  253,  335;   reporter  for  Trir 
hune,  255,  256 
John,  proprietor  of  "Anderson's"  and 
of  resort  in  Crosby's  Opera  House, 
175 


John  I.,  arrived  in  the  thirties,   166; 
the  Delmonico  of  early  Chicago,  210 
Mary  A.  (now  Bartow),  242 

Yates,  Mrs.  P.  E.,  matron  at  Cairo,  105 
Richard  ("Dick"  Yates,  Governor  of 
Illinois),  as  a  presiding  officer,  3; 
orders  regiment  to  Cairo,  14,  19; 
Chairman  of  Union  Defence  Com- 
mittee, 18;  reports  on  Illinois  quota, 
24;  locates  site  of  Camp  Douglas, 
40;  prorogues  "Copperhead  Legis- 
lature," 60 

Yoe,  Peter  L.,  18,  166;  residence  in  Ter- 
race Row,  344 

"Young  America,"  Ike  Cook's  resort, 
165,  186 

Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  307 

Zeisler,  Fanny  Bloomfield,  348 
Zimmer,  Miss  Teresa,  army  nurse,  105 
Zither  playing,  345  et  seq. 
Zouaves,    See  Ellsworth  Zouaves 


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